Virtual network functions (VNFs)
NFV or VNF is the new buzzword in the industry. However, this technology has been around for a few years. In very simple language, NFV means virtualizing network functions, such as routers, firewalls, load balancers, traffic optimizers, IDS or IPS, web application protectors, and so on.
Out of these examples, firewalls and load balancers are the most common virtual network functions of NFV in the real world, especially for deployments inside data centers.
Data centers and enterprises
In the networking industry, the use of hardware network functions (firewalls, load balancers, and so on) is very common. We (network engineers) have always been of hesitant about relying on a virtual firewall or load balancer. However, after the establishment of production server virtualization in the last decade (from VMware ESX 3 until now), virtualization-as-technology has passed all the tests and has become a reliable resource, especially for application servers.
There are many...
