Network Function Virtualization in Content-Centric Networks

Abstract

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) offers an alternative way to design, deploy, and manage networking functions and services by leveraging virtualization technologies to consolidate network functions into general-purpose hardware platforms. On the past years extensive effort has been made to evolve and mature NFV tecnologies over IP networks. However, little or no attempts at all have been made to incorporate NFV into Information-Centric Networks (ICN). This work explores the use and implementation of virtual Network Funtions (VNFS)in Content-Centric Networks (CCN), and proposes the use of the Named Function Networking (NFN) paradigm as means to implement network functions and services in this kind of networks, distributing the network functions and services through the networks nodes and providing flexibility to dynamically place functions in the network as required and without the need of a central controller.