Network Function Virtualization (NFV) Architecture

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Architecture is a network architecture concept that aims to virtualize and consolidate network functions onto a shared infrastructure. The goal of NFV is to enable network operators and service providers to reduce costs, increase agility, and improve scalability and flexibility by moving away from proprietary hardware appliances towards software-based network functions that can be run on commodity hardware.

NFV architecture comprises of three main components:
1) NFV Infrastructure (NFVI) – This component provides the physical resources and virtualization layer needed to host virtualized network functions (VNFs). NFVI consists of compute, storage, and networking resources that can be dynamically allocated to VNFs based on their requirements.

2) Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) – VNFs are software-based network functions that are designed to perform specific networking tasks, such as routing, switching, firewalling, load balancing, and more. VNFs are deployed and managed on the NFVI infrastructure.

3) NFV Management and Orchestration (NFV MANO) – This component is responsible for managing the lifecycle of VNFs and the resources on which they run. NFV MANO includes functions such as VNF onboarding, lifecycle management, scaling, and orchestration.

NFV Architecture is designed to enable network operators and service providers to build networks that are more agile, flexible, and scalable. By using virtualized network functions, network operators can quickly deploy new services, scale them up or down as needed, and reduce operational costs by using commodity hardware.