Probabilistic QoS-aware Placement of VNF Chains at the Edge

Deploying Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled virtual network function (VNF) chains to Cloud-Edge infrastructures requires determining a placement for each VNF that satisfies all set deployment requirements as well as a software-defined routing of traffic flows between consecutive functions that meets all set communication requirements. In this article, we present a declarative solution, EdgeUsher, to the problem of how to best place VNF chains to Cloud-Edge infrastructures. EdgeUsher can determine all eligible placements for a set of VNF chains to a Cloud-Edge infrastructure so to satisfy all of their hardware, IoT, security, bandwidth, and latency requirements. It exploits probability distributions to model the dynamic variations in the available Cloud-Edge infrastructure and to assess output eligible placements against those variations.

Automated summary

In this article, a declarative solution called EdgeUsher is presented for determining the optimal placement of VNF chains in Cloud-Edge infrastructures. EdgeUsher can identify all suitable deployment locations for a set of VNF chains in the infrastructure, taking into account hardware, IoT, security, bandwidth, and latency requirements. It utilizes probability distributions to model the dynamic variations in the infrastructure and evaluate the output placements against those variations.