Analyzing Service Chaining of Virtualized Network Functions with SR-IOV

Abstract

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) along with Service Function Chaining (SFC) has proliferated the way that network functions and services are introduced, offered, and deployed. In particular, NFV and SFC are the basic components of the so called network softwarization era, promoting significant cost reductions and agility. Nonetheless, a constant debate exist regarding the network performance achieved and the holistic establishment of NFV as the key and sole component of the network infrastructure. To this end, this paper tries to shed light in remedy solutions when chaining Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) internally on a standard x86 server using the Single-Root Input Output Virtualization (SR-IOV) technology, in order to maximize the throughput and delay achieved.