Research Challenges in Nextgen Service Orchestration

TL;DR

This paper discusses the emerging challenges in service orchestration caused by fog/edge computing, programmable infrastructures, and their impact on existing techniques, highlighting new requirements and promising technological solutions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the new challenges in service orchestration due to modern infrastructure technologies and reviews potential solutions to address these issues.

Findings

Identification of key challenges in next-generation service orchestration

Assessment of current orchestration techniques against new requirements

Overview of promising technologies for future orchestration solutions

Abstract

Fog/edge computing, function as a service, and programmable infrastructures, like software-defined networking or network function virtualisation, are becoming ubiquitously used in modern Information Technology infrastructures. These technologies change the characteristics and capabilities of the underlying computational substrate where services run (e.g. higher volatility, scarcer computational power, or programmability). As a consequence, the nature of the services that can be run on them changes too (smaller codebases, more fragmented state, etc.). These changes bring new requirements for service orchestrators, which need to evolve so as to support new scenarios where a close interaction between service and infrastructure becomes essential to deliver a seamless user experience. Here, we present the challenges brought forward by this new breed of technologies and where current orchestration techniques stand with regards to the new challenges. We also present a set of promising technologies that can help tame this brave new world.