Abstract: Systems, methods, and software for providing a virtualized communication networking environment are provided herein. In one example, a method includes identifying a media access control address for a network interface of a virtual machine, the media access control address comprising at least one communication network indicator associated with a virtualized local area network. If a virtual network element has not been generated for handling traffic associated with the network interface of the virtual machine, then generating the virtual network element and associating the virtual network element with the virtualized local area network based on the communication network indicator. When the virtual network element has been generated, then assigning the network interface of the virtual machine to the virtual network element associated with the virtualized local area network based on the communication network indicator of the media access control address.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and software for providing a virtualized communication networking environment are provided herein. In one example, a method includes identifying an Internet Protocol (IP) address for a network interface of a virtual machine based on at least a communication network indicator in a MAC address associated with the network interface of the virtual machine. If the virtual network element has not been generated for handling IP traffic associated with the network interface of the virtual machine, then generating the virtual network element and associating the virtual network element with the network interface of the virtual machine based on at least the communication network indicator in the MAC address. When the virtual network element has been generated, then configuring the virtual network element for the IP traffic associated with the network interface of the virtual machine based at least the communication network indicator in the MAC address.

Abstract: A data communication network controls the amounts of virtual network elements it uses. A control system processes user data packets from multiple wireless base stations to determine amounts of user data packet tunnels for a plurality of Quality-of-Service (QoS) levels. The control system processes the amounts of the user data packet tunnels for the QoS levels to identify a target amount of virtual packet gateways to serve the user data packet tunnels. A virtual network element system implements the target amount of the virtual packet gateways to serve the user data packet tunnels at the QoS levels with the virtual packet gateways.

Abstract: An LTE network, having a plurality of base stations and S-GWs, processes GTP packets to determine an amount of GTP tunnels between the base stations and the S-GWs gateways. The LTE network processes the amount of GTP tunnels to determine a target amount of LTE P-GWs to serve the base stations. If the target amount of the LTE P-GWs is greater than a current amount of the LTE P-GWs, then an additional amount of virtual LTE P-GWs is implemented to serve the base stations. If the target amount of the LTE P-GWs is less than the current amount of the LTE P-GWs, then an extra amount of the virtual LTE P-GWs that serve the base stations are removed.

Abstract: Examples disclosed herein provide systems, methods, and software to establish service configurations via Ethernet Local Management Interface. In one example, a method of operating a communication system to configure Ethernet elements includes, in a request Ethernet element, determining identification data based on a media access control (MAC) address and a virtual local area network (VLAN) for the requesting Ethernet element. The method further provides, in the requesting Ethernet element, transferring, via Ethernet Local Management Interface (E-LMI), the identification data to a receiving Ethernet element. The method also includes, in the receiving Ethernet element, receiving the identification information, transferring a service configuration request based on the identification information to a configuration management system, and receiving a service configuration from the configuration management system.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and software for operating a wireless communication system to predict loading on a wireless access node are provided herein. In one example, a method includes allocating past wireless communication usage in a geographic area served by the wireless access node among different wireless communication device types, identifying a growth metric for each of the wireless communication device types based on past device sales in a geographic region larger than the geographic area, and applying the growth metric for each of the wireless communication device types to the past communication usage allocated to each of the wireless communication device types to predict future communication usage for each of the wireless communication device types at the wireless access node. The method also includes aggregating the predicted future communication usage loading for each of the wireless communication device types to predict the future loading on the wireless access node.

Abstract: An LTE network, having a plurality of base stations and S-GWs, processes GTP packets to determine an amount of GTP tunnels between the base stations and the S-GWs gateways. The LTE network processes the amount of GTP tunnels to determine a target amount of LTE P-GWs to serve the base stations. If the target amount of the LTE P-GWs is greater than a current amount of the LTE P-GWs, then an additional amount of virtual LTE P-GWs is implemented to serve the base stations. If the target amount of the LTE P-GWs is less than the current amount of the LTE P-GWs, then an extra amount of the virtual LTE P-GWs that serve the base stations are removed.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and software for providing a virtualized communication networking environment are provided herein. In one example, a method includes identifying an Internet Protocol (IP) address for a network interface of a virtual machine based on at least a communication network indicator in a MAC address associated with the network interface of the virtual machine. If the virtual network element has not been generated for handling IP traffic associated with the network interface of the virtual machine, then generating the virtual network element and associating the virtual network element with the network interface of the virtual machine based on at least the communication network indicator in the MAC address. When the virtual network element has been generated, then configuring the virtual network element for the IP traffic associated with the network interface of the virtual machine based at least the communication network indicator in the MAC address.