Apparatuses and methods for managing traffic in communication networks and systems in conjunction with a configurable broker

A method, comprising:

• providing, by a processing system including a processor, first network traffic to a network packet broker, wherein the network packet broker comprises a filtering function and a traffic steering function based on the first network traffic;
• obtaining, by the processing system and based on the providing of the first network traffic to the network packet broker, first processed network traffic generated by the network packet broker in accordance with a first configuration of a first portion of the network packet broker;
• analyzing, by the processing system, the first processed network traffic, resulting in a first analysis;
• determining, by the processing system and based on the first analysis, that a modification to processing performed by the network packet broker is warranted, wherein the determination that a modification is warranted is based at least in part on the first processed network traffic generated by the filtering function or the traffic steering function;
• in response to the determining, instructing, by the processing system, the network packet broker to continue to process network traffic in accordance with the first configuration during a transition of the network packet broker to a second configuration, and releasing resources associated with the first configuration upon completion of the transition;
• and
• causing, by the processing system and based on the determining, a second portion of the network packet broker to be configured in accordance with a second configuration that is different from the first configuration.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, perform operations, the operations comprising:

• providing first network traffic to a network packet broker, wherein the network packet broker comprises a filtering function and a traffic steering function based on the first network traffic;
• obtaining, based on the providing of the first network traffic to the network packet broker, first processed network traffic generated by the network packet broker in accordance with a first configuration of a first portion of the network packet broker;
• analyzing the first processed network traffic, generated by the filtering function and the traffic steering function, resulting in a first analysis;
• in response to the analyzing, instructing the network packet broker to continue processing network traffic in accordance with the first configuration during a transition of the network packet broker to a second configuration, and releasing resources associated with the first configuration upon completion of the transition;
• and
• causing, based on the first analysis, a second portion of the network packet broker to be configured in accordance with a second configuration.