Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)

By Harpreet Dhillon

Introduction 

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) offers a new way to design and manage networking services. Although a lot of innovations are made in the networking field, but still there is a dependency on proprietary hardware appliances to cater to the networking needs. NFV eliminates this dependency by offloading network functionality to the software which runs in a virtual environment. It is all about implementing network functions in the software that today runs on proprietary hardware, leveraging high-volume standard servers and IT virtualization. NFV helps you move away from multiple vendor networks, customized network devices and complex operations. 

Challenges in current infrastructure:

• Lack of flexibility and agility: Current network infrastructure does not provide any flexibility, so the network resources cannot be moved anywhere in the network. 
• Complexity: Network is becoming more complex due to a large and increasing variety of proprietary hardware appliances by various network vendors. 
• Manual-efforts oriented: Installation and configuration for network appliances are complex, manually intensive and time-consuming tasks.
• Network endpoint mobility: Today’s world of virtualization demands device mobility across the network. The current physical appliances are typically provisioned once in their lifetime. They stay fixed in the same network location and don’t support any kind of flexibility.

Benefits of NFV

• Reduce capex: NFV reduces the demand for purpose-built hardware as it decouples the device functionality from hardware. This certainly decreases the capex investments which are required to purchase hardware.
• Reduce opex: It brings most of the networking functionalities on to the virtual platform instead of hardware. This results in reduction of power and cooling expenses which are installed for proprietary hardware, thus reducing opex costs.
• Flexibility: NFV easily, rapidly, dynamically provisions and instantiates new services in various locations. 
• Improved operational efficiency: Multiple-vendor environment brings complexities in the network which could result in downtime. NFV brings all networking functionalities on to a single platform which can certainly reduce complexities and improve operational efficiency.
• Scalability: It brings scalability to the network environment where customers can accommodate their changing business requirements in the existing network without making investments in proprietary hardware.
• Reduces IT staff cost: NFV results in IT staff resource saving due to a fully automated functionality and troubleshooting from centralized location.

Conclusion

The NFV technology is best suited to the service providers’ industry for whom it can drive down complexity and cost as well as increase agility. This technology can force major network equipment manufacturers to consider offering virtualized versions of their products instead of the proprietary hardware.