Network virtualization: Paving the way to carrier clouds

Network function virtualization (NFV) and multilayer software-defined networking (SDN) will enable an automated control, management and orchestration of network resources across several network layers and areas. They may also open new possibilities for communication service providers (CSP) to expand their business and offer cloud services with carrier-level service-level agreements (SLA). In this paper, we briefly review technological, legal and business aspects of NFV and carrier clouds.