Summary
The goal of this chapter is to get the readers acquainted with NFV concepts, standards and benefits. It examines how NFV is transforming the networking industry. It describes how networks evolved from early days of data communication to today’s sophisticated networks carrying voice, data, and video traffic. The drawbacks and challenges of traditional network architectures and the ways NFV can help address these issues are discussed. The chapter introduces NFV and examines how it compares with today’s networks. It focuses on the importance of understanding the standardization process for NFV. This chapter also provides a detailed study of ETSI’s NFV framework. The major advantages of NFV and the market drivers behind it are also covered in this chapter.