What is Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)? 8 Benefits And Challenges Of NFV

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is a technology that aims to transform the way network services are delivered by leveraging virtualization techniques to decouple network functions, such as firewalls, load balancers, and routers, from dedicated hardware appliances.

Traditionally, these network functions were performed by specialized hardware devices, each serving a specific purpose. NFV, however, virtualizes these functions, allowing them to run as software on commodity hardware. This shift enables greater flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness in deploying and managing network services.

What is Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)?

NFV utilizes virtualization technologies like hypervisors and software-defined networking (SDN) to create a more dynamic and adaptable network infrastructure. By separating network functions from proprietary hardware, NFV enables the deployment of these functions as software-based instances, which can be easily scaled, orchestrated, and managed across a distributed environment.

The key benefits of NFV include increased agility in deploying new services, reduced costs through hardware consolidation, improved scalability, and easier management and automation of network resources. This technology has gained significant attention in the telecommunications industry and beyond as it offers a more efficient and flexible way to design and manage network infrastructures.

Need for Network Functions Virtualization

With the help of NFV, it becomes possible to separate communication services from specialized hardware like routers and firewalls. This eliminates the need for buying new hardware and network operations can offer new services on demand. With this, it is possible to deploy network components in a matter of hours as opposed to months as with conventional networking. Furthermore, the virtualized services can run on less expensive generic servers.

By consolidating numerous network functions into fewer physical servers, costs are reduced, and maintenance and management are simplified. In case a new network function is required, the vendor can simply set up a new virtual machine to perform it instead of installing new hardware.

Why Use Network Functions Virtualization?

There are several reasons you should consider deploying an NFV solution instead of a traditional one. Here are just a few examples:

• Flexibility Traditional deployments require you to buy specific equipment for every function you want to add. With NFV, you can choose which functions to add based on your needs, and you can easily scale up or down depending on your traffic patterns.
• Cost savings NFV offers significant cost savings because you don’t have to purchase hardware for every service and only pay for the functions you need.
• Speed NFV allows you to instantiate new functions when needed. You no longer have to wait hours or days to get a new server configured.
• Security NFV provides security benefits because it separates the functions from the underlying hardware, making it easier to protect against attacks.
• Agility NFV allows you more flexibility than traditional deployments. You can change existing functions’ configurations without reconfiguring the entire network.
• Scalability As your business grows, you can easily expand your infrastructure by adding additional servers, and NFV allows you to do this quickly and easily.

How does NFV Architecture Work?

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is a set of technologies designed to bring about significant changes in how enterprises manage their networking infrastructure. NFV aims to transform the underlying architecture of the network and make it much easier to deploy, operate and maintain applications and services. NFV architecture works by decoupling network functions from dedicated hardware and implementing them as software-based instances that can run on standard servers, storage devices, or even in the cloud. Here’s an overview of how NFV architecture operates:

1. Virtualization Layer: NFV relies on virtualization technologies such as hypervisors to create virtual instances of network functions. These functions, which traditionally operated on specialized hardware, are abstracted and run as software on virtual machines or containers.
2. NFV Infrastructure (NFVI): This layer comprises the physical resources (compute, storage, and networking) where the virtualized network functions (VNFs) operate. It includes servers, switches, storage devices, and other hardware components that provide the computing and networking resources for running VNFs.
3. VNF Manager (VNFM): The VNF Manager oversees the lifecycle of VNFs. It handles tasks such as VNF instantiation, scaling, monitoring, and termination. The VNFM communicates with the NFV Orchestrator and the Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM) to ensure proper management of VNFs.
4. Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM): VIM is responsible for managing and controlling the NFVI resources where VNFs run. It handles tasks like resource allocation, monitoring, and optimization. VIM interacts with the NFV Orchestrator and the VNFM to ensure that the required resources are available for VNF deployment.
5. NFV Orchestrator: This component orchestrates the setup and coordination of VNFs across the NFVI. It manages the entire NFV infrastructure, including VNF lifecycle management, resource allocation, and handling of service chaining (sequentially linking different VNFs to perform a service).
6. Management and Orchestration (MANO): MANO refers collectively to the VNF Manager, NFV Orchestrator, and Virtualized Infrastructure Manager. It enables the automated deployment, configuration, and management of VNFs while ensuring efficient utilization of resources.

NFV architecture allows for the dynamic instantiation, scaling, and chaining of network functions based on demand. The architecture’s key concept is the virtualization of network functions, which provides greater flexibility, scalability, and agility in deploying and managing network services compared to traditional hardware-based approaches. This flexibility allows for easier adaptation to changing network requirements and traffic patterns, ultimately leading to more efficient and responsive network infrastructures.

History of Network Functions Virtualization

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), a consortium of service providers including AT&T, China Mobile, BT Group, Deutsche Telekom and many others, first presented the idea of a network functions virtualization standard at the OpenFlow World Congress in 2012. These service providers had been looking for a way to accelerate the deployment of network services.

Launching new network services used to be a cumbersome process that required space and power for additional hardware boxes. As energy and space costs increased and the number of skilled networking hardware engineers decreased, the ETSI committee turned to network function virtualization to solve both of these problems. NFV eliminates the need for physical space for hardware appliances and does not require intensive networking experience to configure and manage.

Benefits And Challenges Of NFV?

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) offers several advantages that make it an appealing approach for modernizing network infrastructures:

1. Cost Efficiency: NFV allows for the consolidation of hardware appliances into virtualized instances, reducing the need for specialized and expensive hardware. This consolidation can lead to significant cost savings in terms of hardware procurement, maintenance, and power consumption.
2. Scalability: Virtualized network functions can be dynamically scaled up or down based on demand, allowing for more efficient resource utilization. This scalability ensures that network services can adapt to changing traffic patterns and workloads.
3. Flexibility and Agility: NFV enables rapid deployment and provisioning of network functions as software instances. This agility allows for quicker introduction of new services and functionalities, speeding up time-to-market for network operators.
4. Resource Optimization: By abstracting network functions from dedicated hardware, NFV makes it easier to utilize and manage computing resources more efficiently. It enables better resource allocation based on the specific needs of different services or applications.
5. Improved Management and Orchestration: NFV allows for centralized management and orchestration of network functions. This centralized control simplifies network management tasks, enhances automation capabilities, and enables easier policy enforcement across the network.
6. Interoperability: Virtualized network functions can run on standard hardware, promoting interoperability among different vendors’ solutions. This interoperability fosters a more open ecosystem, giving operators more choices and flexibility in selecting and integrating various network components.
7. Service Innovation: NFV facilitates the rapid introduction and testing of new services and functionalities. It enables service providers to experiment with new offerings without the constraints of traditional hardware dependencies.
8. Redundancy and Resilience: Virtualized environments can be designed to include redundancy and failover mechanisms more easily than traditional hardware-based setups, thereby enhancing network resilience and uptime.

Risks of network functions virtualization

NFV makes a network more responsive flexible, and easily scalable. It can accelerate time to market and significantly reduce equipment costs. However, there are security risks, and network functions virtualization security concerns have proven to be a hurdle for wide adoption among telecommunications providers. Here are some of the risks of implementing network functions virtualization that service providers need to consider

• Physical security controls are not effective: Virtualizing network components increases their vulnerability to new kinds of attacks compared to the physical equipment that is locked in a data centre.
• Malware is difficult to isolate and contain: It is easier for malware to travel among virtual components that are all running off of one virtual machine than between hardware components that can be isolated or physically separated.
• Network traffic is less transparent: Traditional traffic monitoring tools have a hard time spotting potentially malicious anomalies within network traffic that is travelling east-west between virtual machines, so NFV requires more fine-grained security solutions.
• Complex layers require multiple forms of security: Network functions virtualization environments are inherently complex, with multiple layers that are hard to secure with blanket security policies.

NFV vs. SDN?

NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) and SDN (Software-Defined Networking) are complementary but distinct concepts that aim to modernize and improve networking infrastructures:

1. NFV (Network Functions Virtualization):
   • NFV focuses on virtualizing network functions that traditionally ran on dedicated hardware (e.g., firewalls, load balancers, routers). It aims to replace these specialized appliances with software-based instances running on standard servers or cloud infrastructure.
   • Its primary goal is to decouple network functions from proprietary hardware, allowing for greater flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. NFV enables dynamic deployment, scaling, and management of network services.
   • NFV addresses the operational side of network services by virtualizing functions, making them easier to deploy, manage, and scale.
2. SDN (Software-Defined Networking):
   • SDN separates the control plane (which makes decisions about where traffic should be sent) from the data plane (which actually forwards the traffic). It centralizes control in a software-based controller, abstracting the underlying hardware infrastructure.
   • Its key principle involves programmatically controlling and managing network devices (switches, routers) through software-defined policies, enabling more flexible and efficient network management.
   • SDN primarily deals with how network traffic is managed and routed across the network, focusing on centralized control and programmability.

Key Differences:

• Focus: NFV primarily focuses on virtualizing network functions and services, while SDN is more concerned with abstracting and centrally managing network traffic flows.
• Objectives: NFV aims to replace specialized hardware with software-based instances to increase flexibility and reduce costs. SDN aims to make networks more programmable, efficient, and adaptable by centralizing control and introducing software-defined policies.
• Implementation: NFV virtualizes network functions, allowing them to run on standard hardware. SDN centralizes network control using a software controller that manages network devices.

While they have distinct focuses, NFV and SDN often complement each other in modern network architectures. NFV can utilize the programmability and centralized control offered by SDN to manage and optimize the deployment of virtualized network functions. Together, they contribute to more agile, scalable, and efficient network infrastructures.

Conclusion

NFV’s ability to virtualize network functions and decouple them from proprietary hardware brings greater flexibility, efficiency, and innovation to network infrastructures, making it an attractive option for modernizing and optimizing network architectures.

NFV is a great technology that enables you to build a highly scalable network architecture. It’s easy to adopt, and it delivers significant cost savings. NFV allows you to deploy multiple virtualized functions across different physical servers. This makes your networks more flexible and efficient, and VMs running on commodity hardware can scale up quickly. NFV also allows you to move workloads between data centres as easily as moving them within a single location.