Patent Document ID: 9992078
Application ID: 14633028
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method, comprising: identifying, by a computer system executing image distribution software within a network function virtualization (NFV)-based network, a disk image to be distributed within the NFV-based network, the NFV-based network including a plurality of datacenters and the disk image being a portion of a virtual service that also includes additional disk images; automatically determining, by the image distribution software executing on the computer system, one or more of the plurality of datacenters to which to distribute the disk image, according to predefined criteria including: a maximum number of copies of disk images to store in the NFV-based network, a minimum number of the copies of disk images to store in the NFV-based network, a degree of network connectivity of each of the plurality of datacenters, a likelihood that each of the plurality of datacenters will instantiate the disk image, the likelihood being determined based on historical information for each of the plurality of datacenters that relates to a type of virtual service that includes the disk image, and whether the disk image is part of a service that is comprised of additional disk images; wherein the one or more of the plurality of datacenters that are automatically determined are of a count that is between the maximum number and the minimum number, and wherein each datacenter of the determined one or more of the plurality of datacenters: have a degree of network connectivity that is at least of a predefined level, have a likelihood of instantiating the disk image that is at least of a predefined amount, and have the additional disk images that are included in the virtual service; distributing, by the image distribution software executing on the computer system, the disk image to the identified one or more of the plurality of datacenters; and upon distribution of the disk image to the identified one or more of the plurality of datacenters, sending, by the image distribution software executing on the computer system to the plurality of datacenters for local storage thereof, a list indicating all of the plurality of datacenters that contain the disk image; wherein when the disk image is required to be instantiated in one of the plurality of datacenters that does not have the disk image, the one of the plurality of datacenters: performs a lookup in the locally stored list to select therefrom, based on proximity, at least one of the one or more of the plurality of datacenters that contain the disk image, and retrieves the disk image from the selected at least one of the one or more of the plurality of datacenters that contain the disk image.