Network Function Virtualization
Network Function Virtualization runs network functions as software on shared virtualized infrastructure instead of tying each function to a dedicated appliance. It lets operators manage the service, its software, and its infrastructure as related but separate concerns.
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Intro
Network Function Virtualization
Network Function Virtualization, or NFV, changes where a network function runs and how you operate it. A firewall, router, load balancer, or mobile-core component no longer has to arrive as one vendor appliance. Its software can run on virtualized infrastructure.
That separation matters because a network service combines several concerns. You need the function's behavior, the compute and network resources beneath it, and a way to create, change, heal, and retire the service. NFV gives those concerns a common architecture. It does not promise that every workload has identical performance or that specialized hardware disappears.
The mental model
Start with the network function. In NFV, its deployable implementation is a Virtualized Network Function, or VNF. The VNF runs on NFV Infrastructure, or NFVI. NFVI supplies the compute, storage, and network resources needed to host the workload.
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Sources
- https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gs/NFV/001_099/006/05.02.01_60/gs_nfv006v050201p.pdf
Supports
- NFV separates network-function software from infrastructure and defines relationships between VNFs and NFVI
- Network Services can combine VNFs, PNFs, and connectivity
- A VNF can be deployed on virtualized infrastructure, while a PNF is tightly coupled to its hardware
- VNF deployment and operational behavior requirements are captured in a VNFD carried in a VNF Package
- Virtual Links abstract connectivity between service constituents
- NFV-MANO includes the NFVO, VNFM, and VIM functional blocks
- The VNFM manages VNF lifecycle and standardized interfaces support components with different lifecycles
- The architecture includes containerized deployment support and related management functions
- https://www.etsi.org/technical-groups/nfv/
Supports
- ETSI evolves the Telco Cloud Architecture introduced in NFV Release 6 while maintaining and enhancing earlier NFV specifications
- ETSI publishes NFV specifications, studies, performance and security requirements, and interoperability guidance
- Current ETSI NFV publications include Release 5 protocol and data-model specifications
- https://osm.etsi.org/docs/user-guide/latest/
Supports
- Open Source MANO is an ETSI-hosted open-source MANO stack for NFV
- OSM is aligned to NFV ISG information models and is VIM-independent
- https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_gs/NFV-SOL/001_099/016/05.02.01_60/gs_NFV-SOL016v050201p.pdf
Supports
- The specification defines NFV-MANO procedures involving multiple interfaces
- https://github.com/ravens/awesome-telco
Supports
- The Awesome Telco list includes 5G-SHARP Orchestrator as a tool for configuring, deploying, and monitoring 5G open-source network components