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An NSH-Enabled Architecture for Virtualized Network Function Platforms

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Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 926))

Abstract

The proper execution of Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) depends on the employment of platforms specifically created to fulfill multiple Network Function Virtualization (NFV) requirements (e.g., performance, integration, and management). However, existing VNF platforms implement different architectures, thus resulting in proprietary or limited solutions that do not always support important NFV specifications, such as Network Service Header (NSH). In this work, we introduce a comprehensive architecture for VNF platforms that supports the NFV requirements defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), while also enabling the execution of NSH. We implemented a VNF platform prototype, on which we conducted a case study, and report a series of performance evaluation experiments. Results demonstrate the intrinsic advantages of supporting NSH and show the flexibility of our architecture in distinct NFV scenarios.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The polling method of DPDK is inefficient regarding to CPU resources, while L2 Sockets are not able to achieve high throughput.

  2. 2.

    By the time of writing, we opted to support only Context Headers of fixed-length [13].

  3. 3.

    https://nicolargo.github.io/glances/.

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Correspondence to Vinícius F. Garcia .

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Garcia, V.F. et al. (2020). An NSH-Enabled Architecture for Virtualized Network Function Platforms. In: Barolli, L., Takizawa, M., Xhafa, F., Enokido, T. (eds) Advanced Information Networking and Applications. AINA 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 926. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15032-7_32

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