SDxCentral
Join Log In
SD-WAN 1 5G 11 Edge 5 IoT 12 SDN 3 NFV 3 Containers 21 Cloud 12 Security 3 AI 5 Data Center 1 Storage 3 APM/NPM Open Source

Log In to SDxCentral

Log in with your email? Forgot your password?
  • Newsletters
  • eBriefs
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars
  • Videos
  • Directory
  • White Papers
  • Resources
  • Use Cases
  • Support

Join SDxCentral and get information tailored to your particular interests everyday.

Join
Sponsored:
Dell EMC 3 Citrix Riverbed

Networking > NFV > NFV Definitions > What’s NFV Software?

What’s NFV Software?

NFV software is used to deploy Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) to create cloud-based applications with a combination of virtualization software and industry-standard hardware.

Global operators are increasingly looking at using NFV software and industry-standard hardware to deploy enterprise applications rather than using integrated, proprietary hardware and software systems. Enterprise applications that can be deployed with NFV software include virtual firewalls, IP-VPNs, load balancing, application acceleration, Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity and optimization services, and network services using virtual customer premises equipment (CPE).

A managed router service using NFV Software

Provisioning VNFs with Software

An operator can use NFV software model to provision virtual network functions (VNFs) for the customer without the need for specific hardware. This enables more “service agility” because specific hardware is not needed to provision a VNFs.

Using NFV software has major benefits such as reduced capital expenditure (capex), by reducing the amount of required hardware; reduced operating expense (opex), by increasing the speed and automation with which services are provisioned; and increased management efficiencies of using software only. For example, software updates can be issued over the network rather than requiring on-site visits or “truck rolls.”

Software Initiatives and Standards

NFV software applies to a group of technologies being deployed by networking vendors and service providers. Several groups have developed standards or architectural models for deployment. For example, the NFV MANO is a working group (WG) of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute Industry Specification Group (ETSI ISG NFV). The ETSI-defined framework governs the management and orchestration of all resources in the cloud data center, including computing, networking, storage, and virtual machine (VM) resources.

CloudNFV is a group effort to provide and open management architecture for deploying NFV in a cloud environment using open standards. Cloud NFV was formed by 6Wind, CIMI Corp., Dell Inc., Enterprise Web, Overture Networks, and Qosmos in 2013 and joined by other companies, including Metaswitch, later.

Many service providers, equipment vendors, and software vendors have built upon the ETSI MANO and CloudNFV work to deliver specific NFV software that can handle the orchestration, provisioning, and management VNFs to customers using the cloud. In 2015, many service providers announced plans for the deployment of new NFV installations, including Telefonica and NTT Docomo.

For the customer, a Cloud NFV approach has many benefits, including the capability to provision services using a Web interface and manage the service without complicated proprietary hardware configurations.

Related Definitions

What Is Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO)? DefinitionWhat’s a Virtual Router (vRouter)?What is OPNFV or Open Platform for NFV Project?What is OpenStack Networking?How Does ETSI NFV Operate?What is OpenStack Neutron?
SDxCentral Daily News

Join your Peers! Subscribe to SDxCentral's Newsletter

Subscribe to Get the Daily News!

Related Definitions

  • What is a VNF Manager (VNFM)? Definition
  • What is Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM)? Definition
  • What is an NFV Orchestrator (NFVO)? Definition
  • What is an NFV OpenStack? --Definition--
  • What is an NFV Orchestration?
  • An Overview of NFV Elements
  • What’s in an NFV Cloud?
  • What is a Virtual Network Function or VNF?
  • What is NFV MANO?
  • What is OPNFV or Open Platform for NFV Project?

About SDxCentral

  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Work With Us
  • Editorial Team
  • Careers
  • Legal
  • Support

Engage With us

This material may not be copied, reproduced, or modified in whole or in part for any purpose except with express written permission from an authorized representative of SDxCentral, LLC. In addition to such written permission to copy, reproduce, or modify this document in whole or part, an acknowledgement of the authors of the document and all applicable portions of the copyright notice must be clearly referenced. All Rights Reserved.

© 2012-2019 SDxCentral, LLC, All Rights Reserved. SDNCentral™, the SDNCentral logo, SDxCentral™, SDxCentral logo, SDxNews™, SDxTech™, SDx™, the SDx logo, and DemoFriday™ are trademarks of SDxCentral, LLC in the U.S. and other countries.

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy