A Formal Framework of Resource Management for VNFaaS in Cloud

Modern computer networks heavily depend on expensive and proprietary hardware deployed at fixed locations. Network functions virtualization (NFV), one of the fastest emerging topics in networking, reduces the limitations of these vendor specific hardware by introducing flexibility in the network architecture and elasticity in the deployment of innovative network functions. Service providers are offering virtual network functions as a service (VNFaaS), where consumers can use softwarized network applications running on a cloud infrastructure. NFV allows a flexible and dynamic implementation of virtual network functions in virtual machines deployed on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers in various locations, as well as in the core cloud infrastructure. However, allocating resources to these virtual machines is a large combinatorial problem, and requires a solution in a timely manner in terms of various requirements. In this work, we propose VNFSynth, an automated synthesis framework, to solve this problem. VNFSynth models the resource specifications, incoming packet processing requirements, bandwidth constraints, etc., with respect to the physical network, existing resources, and VNF properties, and determines the VM network architecture. It uses satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) to model this synthesis problem. The evaluation results demonstrate the scalability and usability of the solution.