Internet DRAFT - draft-sijeon-nfvrg-dynamic-resource-vnfaas
draft-sijeon-nfvrg-dynamic-resource-vnfaas
NFV Research Group S. Jeon
Internet-Draft Instituto de Telecomunicacoes
Intended status: Informational Y. Kim
Expires: April 21, 2016 Soongsil University
October 19, 2015
VNFaaS for Dynamic Resource Provisioning in Non-Virtualized Networks
draft-sijeon-nfvrg-dynamic-resource-vnfaas-00.txt
Abstract
This draft describes examples of Virtual Network Function as a
Service (VNFaaS) for dynamic resource provisioning in non-virtualized
networks, with benefits, while introducing challenges and
considerations.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Examples of Dynamic Resource Provisioning in Non-Virtualized
Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1. Traffic Offloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2. Localized Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Challenges and Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. Integrated monitoring of VNFs and PNFs . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2. Interfacing between VNFs and PNFs . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3. Dependencies verification between the VNFs, VNFs and PNFs 4
4. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1. Introduction
NFV promises reduced time-to-market and rapid deployment of novel
network solutions by running the network function software instance
decoupled from a hardware appliance on top of standard high-volume
servers. It is also expected to address operator's issues on the
flexibility. However, expecting NFV will totally replace the current
4G equipment in near future would not be realistic, as operators have
different replacement schedules and evolution strategies of their
networks.
The NFV enables various kinds of virtualized services such as NFV
Infrastructure as a Service (NFVIaaS), Virtual Network Platform as a
Service (VNPaaS), Virtual Network Function as a Service (VNFaaS), and
so on [ETSI-NFV-USE-CASES]. VNFaaS could be useful, particularly for
dynamic resource provisioning in non-virtualized networks, for
addressing dimensioning-related issues while presenting value-added
services over the current network deployment, without big burdens of
CAPEX and OPEX.
This draft describes examples of VNFaaS for dynamic resource
provisioning in non-virtualized networks, with benefits, while
introducing challenges and considerations.
2. Examples of Dynamic Resource Provisioning in Non-Virtualized
Networks
The examples of VNFaaS introduced below focus on dynamic resource
provisioning with expected benefits and optimization perspectives.
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The deployed aspects and features can vary and be differently
customized depending on the demand of operators.
2.1. Traffic Offloading
The rapid increase of data traffic over mobile network is giving big
concerns to operator; how to mitigate/offload the increasing traffic
while increasing average revenue per user (ARPU). There are already
well-known traffic offloading solutions for 3GPP networks, such as
Local IP Access (LIPA) and Selective IP Traffic Offloading (SIPTO),
which aims to localize traffic, where the target peer could be
locally available. Those approaches require additional hardware
deployment, such as local gateways (LGWs), where needed over regions,
or call for significant changes of the deployed network, thus
increasing CAPEX and OPEX. They may be useful at peak hours and days
while the usability is at low in the rest of times.
Instantiating virtualized EPC (vEPC) with full EPC components could
be useful; however, selected VNFs in the vEPC for dynamic resource
provisioning could be utilized on demand, which can effectively
address the traffic offloading problem faced by the operators. That
is, Serving GW (SGW) and PDN GW (PGW) can be served on a regional
cloud while those are connected and interfaced with the legacy EPC
(physical EPC, pEPC) components to be controlled by such as PCRF and
MME in the pEPC. In addition, it is envisaged that different
offloading vEPC mode can be programmed to meet more diverse aspects
of traffic offloading with granularity, as proposed in [vEPC-TOF].
2.2. Localized Processing
3GPP Machine-Type Communications (MTC) architecture is dedicated for
effectively handling machine-to-machine (M2M), which can be
interchangeably called MTC, traffic over a 3GPP network.
Characteristics of MTC traffic vary over developed MTC applications.
Some MTC applications generate lots of signaling traffic including
the subscription control, which may be huge by taking into
consideration millions of MTC devices. For effective processing with
reduced delay on demand, subscription control function can be
additionally provided within the Radio Access Network (RAN) in close
proximity to MTC devices, which aspect could be similar with the
concept of the ETSI Mobile-Edge Computing (MEC)
[ETSI-MEC-Whitepaper]. It may enable localized processing of huge
amounts of MTC signaling traffic that should have gone through the
MTC core over regional access networks, while contributing to
reliability of overall MTC system architecture.
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3. Challenges and Considerations
We briefly mention challenges for the VNFaaS-based dynamic resource
provisioning over non-virtualized networks are described with
consideration in previously submitted IRTF drafts and scientific
publications. More aspects regarding those will be updated in next
version.
3.1. Integrated monitoring of VNFs and PNFs
Determination, deployment, and initiation of VNFs can be made by a
human intervention. However, to decide proper a dynamic resource
provisioning strategy in an automated process, it should be able to
exactly identify the current situation and determine optimal
placement of the VNFs with resource availability. Integrated
monitoring of deployed VNFs and Physical Network Functions (PNFs)
should be possible. [ETSI-NFV-MANO] introduces several ways of the
event monitoring, i.e. VNF-initiated, Element Management (EM)-
initiated, OSS/BSS-initiated, and VNF Manager (VNFM)-initiated. One
easy way to get the event monitoring of the PNFs could be using OSS/
BSS-initiated. And the NFV Orchestrator should get properly notified
from those monitored events.
3.2. Interfacing between VNFs and PNFs
It may need to interface between dynamically deployed VNFs and PNFs
running over a network, where the VNFs cannot work standalone but
requires interfacing for a control plane operation. In case of the
traffic offloading scenario, deployed SGW and PGW should be connected
with physical MME, and the MME should be able to be aware of newly
initiated GWs' context information in a running time.
3.3. Dependencies verification between the VNFs, VNFs and PNFs
Once VNFs to be instantiated are determined, it should be identified
availability of the VNFs and cloud resource. Then, dependencies
verification should be followed, to identify whether there are
dependencies issues to be working with other VNFs and PNFs. The need
of dependencies of network service components in NFV framework was
mentioned in [I-D.shin-nfvrg-service-verification], with an example,
i.e. case of inconsistency between states stored and managed in VNF
Forwarding Graphs (FGs), however, not covering the dependencies
between VNFs and PNFs.
One idea to avoid such dependencies could come from policy-based
intent statement that regulates specific actions with constraints
[I-D.irtf-nfvrg-nfv-policy-arch], which can block undesired actions
before instantiation and execution of the determined VNFs, however,
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it may be difficult to check deeper level of dependencies issues made
over the possibility of diverse combination of different kinds of
VNFs.
4. IANA Considerations
5. Security Considerations
6. References
6.1. Normative References
[I-D.irtf-nfvrg-nfv-policy-arch]
Figueira, N., Krishnan, R., Lopez, D., Wright, S., and D.
Krishnaswamy, "Policy Architecture and Framework for NFV
Infrastructures", draft-irtf-nfvrg-nfv-policy-arch-02
(work in progress), October 2015.
6.2. Informative References
[ETSI-MEC-Whitepaper]
ETSI, "Mobile-Edge Computing - Introductory Technical
White Paper", September 2014.
[ETSI-NFV-MANO]
ETSI, "Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) Management
and Orchestration, v1.1.1", December 2014.
[ETSI-NFV-USE-CASES]
ETSI, "Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV); Use Cases,
v1.1.1", October 2013.
[I-D.shin-nfvrg-service-verification]
Shin, M., Nam, K., Pack, S., Lee, S., Krishnan, R., and T.
Kim, "Verification of NFV Services : Problem Statement and
Challenges", draft-shin-nfvrg-service-verification-04
(work in progress), October 2015.
[vEPC-TOF]
Jeon, S., Corujo, D., and R. Aguiar, "Virtualised EPC for
On-Demand Mobile Traffic Offloading in 5G Environments",
Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Standards and
Communications Networking (CSCN) 2015, October 2015.
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Authors' Addresses
Seil Jeon
Instituto de Telecomunicacoes
Campus Universitario de Santiago
Aveiro 3810-193
Portugal
Email: seiljeon@av.it.pt
Younghan Kim
Soongsil University
369, Sangdo-ro, Dongjak-gu
Seoul 156-743
Korea
Email: younghak@ssu.ac.kr
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