Demystifying NFV in Carrier Networks

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is one of the most profound paradigm shifts the networking industry has faced to date. Proven functions such as routing, policy, firewall, DPI, and many others will move from running on dedicated hardware appliances to running on unproven virtualized server platforms in the hope of achieving massive efficiencies. While carriers agree on the need and vision for NFV, many are struggling to quantify the benefits, understand the practical migration steps, and measure How should they go about replacing their current network architecture, moving from purpose-built physical devices to a virtualized, software-controlled scenario? How will they know with certainty that the migration was successful and justifies their investment? Does the virtualized solution deliver the performance, resiliency, security, elasticity, and quality of experience (QoE) needed to satisfy customers? With network usage, user expectations, and competitive threats all on the rise, the risks to operators’ brands and bottom line are too great to leave NFV deployments to chance. Everything known becomes unknown again, and there are risks associated both with moving too fast, and not fast enough. From beginning to end, targeted test strategies and methodologies are needed to accelerate and ensure the delivery of NFV solutions with guaranteed quality. Ixia solutions validate that the motivations for NFV are achievable prior to migration, and that the expected benefits are realized in the virtualized environment. We help operators understand when it makes sense to virtualize an aspect of the network and when it doesn’t, delivering clear insight into the migration process and its ultimate success.