NFVinfrastruktuuri

NFVinfrastruktuuri, or Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure, refers to the hardware and software components that enable the virtualization of network functions. Traditionally, network functions such as firewalls, routers, and load balancers were implemented as dedicated hardware appliances. NFVinfrastruktuuri allows these functions to be deployed as software on standard computing hardware, including servers, storage, and network devices. This approach is a core component of Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), an architectural framework that aims to transform how network services are built and delivered.

The NFVinfrastruktuuri is typically composed of three main elements: Hardware Resources, Virtualization Layer, and Infrastructure Network. The Hardware Resources encompass commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) servers, storage systems, and network switches. The Virtualization Layer, often a hypervisor or a container management platform, abstracts the hardware resources and allows for the creation and management of virtual machines (VMs) or containers. These VMs or containers host the Network Functions (NFs), which are referred to as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) or Cloud-native Network Functions (CNFs). The Infrastructure Network provides the connectivity between the hardware resources and the VNFs/CNFs, enabling communication between them and with the external network.

The benefits of NFVinfrastruktuuri include increased agility, reduced capital and operational expenses, improved scalability, and faster service innovation. By decoupling network functions from proprietary hardware, service providers can deploy new services more rapidly and adapt their networks to changing demands with greater flexibility. It is a foundational technology for modern telecommunications networks and plays a key role in the evolution towards 5G and beyond.