Network Functions Virtualization: A Survey

New and different trends in networks have been promoted in recent years, among these, Network Functions Virtualization. It has emerged as an initiative from the telecom industry (manufacturers, network operators and carriers) in order to increase the flexibility of network services deployment and integration within operator's networks. This is achieved through the implementation of network functions such as firewalls, encryption, filtering, load balancing, among others, via software modules. The idea is to avoid using devices based in specific hardware and increase return on investment. Transforming network functions in software allows to run them on different general purpose equipment that could be located in a variety of telecom infrastructure, including data centers, network nodes, and even in end-user facilities. Virtual network functions can easily be migrated from one equipment to another without the need to install new specialized hardware. This article presents a state of the art on network functions virtualization, also it proposes an explanation and classification of the main projects that are working under this paradigm. Finally, future challenges in this area are identified and presented.