The Need for Advanced Intelligence in NFV Management and Orchestration

TL;DR

This paper discusses how advanced AI techniques like Reinforcement Learning and Federated Learning can improve NFV management by addressing key challenges, offering new use cases and a bottom-up implementation approach.

Contribution

It introduces the application of advanced intelligence methods to NFV management, highlighting benefits, potential use cases, and a novel bottom-up approach.

Findings

Advanced Intelligence techniques enhance NFV operational efficiency

Reinforcement and Federated Learning address privacy and scalability issues

Proposed micro-functionality approach facilitates implementation

Abstract

With the constant demand for connectivity at an all-time high, Network Service Providers (NSPs) are required to optimize their networks to cope with rising capital and operational expenditures required to meet the growing connectivity demand. A solution to this challenge was presented through Network Function Virtualization (NFV). As network complexity increases and futuristic networks take shape, NSPs are required to incorporate an increasing amount of operational efficiency into their NFV-enabled networks. One such technique is Machine Learning (ML), which has been applied to various entities in NFV-enabled networks, most notably in the NFV Orchestrator. While traditional ML provides tremendous operational efficiencies, including real-time and high-volume data processing, challenges such as privacy, security, scalability, transferability, and concept drift hinder its widespread implementation. Through the adoption of Advanced Intelligence techniques such as Reinforcement Learning and Federated Learning, NSPs can leverage the benefits of traditional ML while simultaneously addressing the major challenges traditionally associated with it. This work presents the benefits of adopting these advanced techniques, provides a list of potential use cases and research topics, and proposes a bottom-up micro-functionality approach to applying these methods of Advanced Intelligence to NFV Management and Orchestration.