Ready-to-deploy service function chaining for mobile networks

The dynamic composition of virtualized network functions promises to ease the introduction of new services in mobile networks, while reducing provisioning costs. This approach, usually called Service Function Chaining, has been the focus of several research efforts. However, current systems rely on new tunneling protocols and on network infrastructure changes. In this paper, we introduce CATENAE1, an efficient Service Function Chaining system for mobile networks. Our system deals with today's network functions, including the ones that perform changes to the packet's header, without using any tunneling protocol and without requiring network modifications. Our approach is ready to be deployed in mobile networks, integrates seamlessly with legacy network management systems and introduces no overhead in the (virtual) network functions.