What is (NFV)?
Network functions virtualization (NFV) is a way to virtualize network services. Such as routers, firewalls, and load balancers, that have traditionally been run on proprietary hardware. These services are packaged as virtual machines (VMs) on commodity hardware. Which allows service providers to run their network on standard servers instead of proprietary ones. It is one of the primary components of a telco cloud, which is reshaping the telecommunications industry.
With NFV, you don’t need to have dedicated hardware for each network function. Also, NFV improves scalability and agility by allowing service providers to deliver new network services and applications on-demand, without requiring additional hardware resources.
NFV architecture
The NFV architecture proposed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is helping to define standards for NFV implementation. Each component of the architecture is based on these standards to promote better stability and interoperability.
NFV architecture consists of:
- Virtualized network functions (VNFs)are software applications that deliver network functions such as file sharing, directory services, and IP configuration.
- Network functions virtualization infrastructure (NFVi) consists of the infrastructure components—compute, storage, networking—on a platform to support software, such as a hypervisor like KVM or a container management platform, needed to run network apps.
- Management, automation, and network orchestration (MANO) provide the framework for managing NFV infrastructure and provisioning new VNFs.
Software-defined networking (SDN) and NFV
NFV and SDN are not dependent on each other, but they do have similarities. Both rely on virtualization and use network abstraction, but how they separate functions and abstract resources is different.
SDN separates network forwarding functions from network control functions intending to create a network that is centrally manageable and programmable. NFV abstracts network functions from hardware. And NFV supports SDN by providing the infrastructure on which SDN software can run.
NFV and SDN can be used together, depending on what you want to accomplish, and both use commodity hardware. With NFV and SDN, you can create a network architecture that is more flexible, programmable and uses resources efficiently.
NFV vs SDN (Software Defined Networking)
NFV refers to the virtualization of network components, while SDN refers to a network architecture that injects automation and programmability into the network by decoupling network control and forwarding functions. In other words, NFV virtualizes network infrastructure and SDN centralizes network control. Combine, SDN and NFV create a network that is built, operated, and managed by software.
An SDN typically has an SDN controller, northbound application program interfaces (APIs), and southbound APIs. The controller allows network administrators to view the network and dictate behaviors and policies to the underlying infrastructure. Southbound APIs take information about the state of the network from that infrastructure and send it back to the controller. Which is necessary to keep the network running smoothly. Applications and services use northbound APIs to communicate their resource needs to the controller.
The benefits of using NFV
With NFV, service providers can run network functions on standard hardware instead of dedicated hardware. Also, because network functions are virtualized, multiple functions can be run on a single server. This means that less physical hardware is needed. Which allows for resource consolidation that results in physical space, power, and overall cost reductions.
NFV gives providers the flexibility to run VNFs across different servers or move them around as needed when demand changes. This flexibility lets service providers deliver services and apps faster.
For example, if a customer requests a new network function, they can spin up a new VM to handle that request. If the function is no longer needed, the VM can be decommissioned. This can also be a low-risk way to test the value of potential new service.
Another benefit of NFV
Network operators who virtualize their network can save money, shorten the time-to-market for new or updated products. And the better scale and adjust resources available to applications and services. Other benefits include:
Less Vendor Lock-in: Running VNFs on COTS hardware, which means organizations aren’t locked into proprietary. Fixed-function boxes that take truck rolls and significant time and labor to deploy and configure.
Greater Resource Efficiency: A virtualized data center or other infrastructure is more efficient to operate because more can be done with less. Datacenter footprint, power consumption, and cooling requirements can all be reduced or kept the same, but with increased workload capacity. This is possible because a single server can run multiple VNFs at once, so not as many servers need to do the same amount of work. When network demand changes, an organization can update its infrastructure through software instead of doing another truck roll. The instances where an organization needs to physically update its network and data centers are significantly reducing.
Flexibility: Organizations can use the agility of NFV to quickly adapt to changing business requirements and new market opportunities. In other words, the time-to-market period is shortened because the network infrastructure can be changed to adequately support the organization’s new products. A network that has gone through NFV is also able to adjust quickly and easily to changes in resource demand as traffic coming to the data center increases or decreases. Scaling up and down in the number of VMs and the resources provided to them can be done automatically through SDN software.
Is NFV an open standard?
So the concept and benefits of NFV are simple enough, but implementing NFV gets more complicated. That’s because to realize the full benefit of NFV, some level of cooperation. And the interaction between various network solution providers and network operators in need.
That’s where industry groups like ETSI come into play. Over 130 of the world’s leading network operators have recently joined together to form an ESTI Industry Specification Group (ISG) for NFV.
While the ETSI NFV ISG has garnered a lot of interest in defining the framework for NFV, it is only one player amongst many in this now burgeoning area of industry development. Dozens of groups, some open-source, others more traditional standards organizations are creating pieces of the (large) puzzle needed to make NFV a reality. All while operators large and small kick the tires, engage in proofs-of-concept exercises, and evaluate the business case for what is surely the industry’s largest transformation in decades.
Conclusion
Therefore in this article, we talked about the (NFV) Network functions virtualization And everything about that.