Deployment of virtual network functions over multiple WAN interconnected PoPs

摘要

Network Functions Virtualization allows Communication Service Providers to extend their traditional service portfolio to new models of service offerings, such as Virtualized Network Functions as a Service (VNFaaS), in which network functions can be traded following the “on-demand” Cloud paradigm. Incremental deployment and interoperability with legacy infrastructure, in particular Wide Area Network (WAN) domains and enterprise services, are key requirements to make this vision come true in the short/medium term. This paper discusses the main challenges that need be addressed for the adoption of VNFaaS in production environments and is particularly focused on the integration of NFV and WAN. To this end, two components are proposed: Netfloc, to support traffic steering inside NFV infrastructure points of presence, and the WAN Infrastructure Connectivity Manager (WICM), to handle the integration of virtualized network functions with WAN connectivity services, as a composed end-to-end network service.