Building Multi-domain Service Function Chains Based on Multiple NFV Orchestrators
Alexandre Huff, Giovanni Venâncio, Vinícius Fülber-Garcia, Elias P. Duarte
Abstract
Service Function Chains (SFCs) are compositions of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) designed to provide complex network services. In this work, we propose a strategy to build an SFC across multiple domains and multiple clouds using multiple NFV platforms, which we call a Multi-SFC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first solution to allow an SFC to be built across multiple different orchestrators - although there are other solutions for multiple domains and clouds. The basic building block of the proposed strategy is the SFC segment, in which all VNFs are connected within a single cloud/domain/platform. A pair of different segments is interconnected through a VNF tunnel that consists of a pair of VNFs, each interfacing one of the connected segments. A tunnel can be implemented with different technologies such as a VPN or VXLAN. The main advantage of the Multi-SFC strategy is that it is a holistic approach that allows operators to deploy SFCs on multiple clouds/domains/platforms without having to deal with a myriad of minute details required to configure and interconnect the different underlying technologies. A prototype was implemented as a proof of concept and experimental results are presented.