Managing physical network function instances in a network service instance

A method for a network functions virtualization orchestrator (NFVO), the method comprising:

• receiving a request from a management function to update a network service (NS) instance;
• sending, to the management function, an update NS response comprising a lifecycle operation occurrence identifier corresponding to an NS lifecycle operation occurrence;
• sending, to the management function, an NS Lifecycle Change notification indicating a start of an NS update;
• performing a physical network function (PNF) update operation based on the request;
• and
• sending, to the management function, an NS identifier change notification indicating a result of the NS update.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions to, when executed, instruct a processor to:

• process a request to update a network service (NS) with a physical network function (PNF) instance;
• process an update NS response comprising a lifecycle operation occurrence identifier corresponding to an NS lifecycle operation occurrence;
• process an NS Lifecycle Change notification indicating a start of an NS update;
• and
• process an NS identifier change notification indicating a result of the NS update.