Software-driven Connectivity Orchestration for Multi-domain NFV Ecosystems Articles uri icon

publication date

  • March 2024

start page

  • 88

end page

  • 97

issue

  • 2

volume

  • 41

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0740-7459

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1937-4194

abstract

  • Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is a fundamental enabler in 5G networks, automating service deployment through softwarization and virtualization. However, challenges remain in providing network connectivity to service components, commonly referred to as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), deployed on different domains. A usual approach to enable such connectivity is to rely on layer-3 routing from Internet service providers. However, this approach presents limitations to preserve isolation among remote VNFs, and may require undesirable network configurations. This paper proposes a novel connectivity orchestration service for multi-domain NFV ecosystems to address these limitations. The service is based on a set of interconnected software components that are deployed on every NFV domain. Connectivity is automatically provided to remote VNFs over the overlay network formed by these components using Software-Defined Network (SDN) technologies. The service has been prototyped using open-source software, being validated on a real NFV ecosystem.

subjects

  • Telecommunications

keywords

  • 5g mobile communication; software; overlay networks; ecosystems; routing; ip networks; virtualization