Tethered Linux CPE for IP service delivery

Abstract

This paper presents a new delivery model for IP communication services based on using lightweight Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) that is remotely controlled by virtualized software images running on a provider cloud.By removing the complex pieces of the service logic from the equipment in the customer premises, and by placing them in a virtualized software instance running inside the Service Provider's datacenter, relevant Operational and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX and OPEX) savings can be obtained. CAPEX savings are achieved by reducing the complexity of the piece of hardware to be deployed at the customer premises, or by extending the life cycle of existing devices already deployed.Potential OPEX savings are even larger: the complex logic of the service implementation (the software complexity) is under more manageable control of the service provider, thus enabling simpler troubleshooting and software upgrades, and reducing technical support calls and truck rolls.Hardware development is simplified as the service complexity is implemented in software with a continuous development model, thus reducing the time to market for new services whilst maintaining consistency of service regardless of hardware in the home. This model is enabled by the latest advances in the networking stack of the Linux kernel (which allow to implement network functions as programs running in kernel space), coupled with the use of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). The combination of these technologies allows controlling the broadband service in the cloud, while maintaining local, on-premises service enforcement, security and address management.

Siren: A platform for deploying virtual network services in the cloud to Fog continuum

“…As previously discussed these systems do not optimally support heterogeneous environments. This said, various research efforts from ONLabs [28], [29] and multiple Universities [10], [31], [32] have already been conducted into NFV-MANO solutions hosted outside of the cloud datacentre in locations such as the operator's edge with the purpose to virtualise the customer network functions. Collectively, these papers motivate the need to move away from Cloud computing by highlighting a major challenge of NFV-MANO, which is creating an infrastructure that can scale to run millions of VNFs [25].…”

Enforcement of dynamic HTTP policies on resource-constrained residential gateways

“…Traffic processing in residential gateways has been proposed also in the context of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) [31,32]. An existing NFV infrastructure can employ residential gateways to deploy lightweight Native Network Functions [33] or eBPF data plane programs [34], in order to provide delaysensitive services to the user, while computation intensive services are hosted in the data center of the service operator. This solution offers flexibility in the type and number of network services that can be provided and represents an interesting target platform for the deployment of U-Filter.…”

Enabling NFV Services on Resource-Constrained CPEs

“…Edge-based services are proposed in [5], which exploits eBPF programs to create a programmable data path in the CPE while the control plane is kept on the cloud. The CPE is able to handle locally the traffic, hence guaranteeing its operations also in case the connectivity toward the cloud is lost.…”