Resource Allocation in Network Function Virtualization: Problems, Models and Algorithms

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) has recently attracted considerable attention from both research and industrial communities. Numerous papers have been published regarding solving the resource- allocation problems in NFV, from various perspectives, considering different constraints, and adopting a range of techniques. However, it is difficult to get a clear impression of how to understand and classify different kinds of resource allocation problems in NFV and how to design solutions to solve these problems efficiently. This book addresses these concerns by offering a comprehensive overview and explanation of different resource allocation problems in NFV and presenting efficient solutions to solve them. It covers resource allocation problems in NFV, including an introduction to NFV and QoS parameters modelling as well as related problem definition, formulation and the respective state-of-the-art algorithms. This book allows readers to gain a comprehensive understanding of and deep insights into the resource allocation problems in NFV. It does so by exploring (1) the working principle and architecture of NFV, (2) how to model the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters in NFV services, (3) definition, formulation and analysis of different kinds of resource allocation problems in various NFV scenarios, (4) solutions for solving the resource allocation problem in NFV, and (5) possible future work in the respective area.