vL2-WIM: Flexible virtual layer 2 connectivity services in distributed 5G MANO domains

Future 5G networks will be implemented as distributed clouds where virtual network functions and services are instantiated on demand. To support the required flexibility and automation, novel data center interconnect technology must support stringent data plane requirements brought along by 5G Radio Access Networks (RANs), while delivering the necessary flexibility in the service definition and enabling automation in the service provisioning. In this paper we present vL2-WIM, a novel WAN Infrastructure Manager (WIM) that enables virtual layer 2 services across data centers in distributed 5G MANO deployments. We provide a detailed evaluation of vL2-WIM showing how complex connectivity services composed of up to 30 Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) in different compute domains can be provisioned in less than 15 seconds.