Virtualization, Cloudification, and Service Orientation of Network: A Systematic Review

Innovations in new applications and technological advancements are driving the evolution of network architectures towards greater flexibility and automation. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) deploys Network Functions (NFs) as software applications onto cloud infrastructure, redefining the development, deployment, and operation models of communication networks, thereby meeting the evolving demands of the network. However, after more than a decade of development, the achievements and actual benefits that global operators have achieved in NFV are not on par, partly because some key technologies have not yet been resolved. To accelerate the large-scale commercial use of NFV, this paper focuses on reviewing relevant literature from the past five years. Based on the application in practice and insights into future trends, we comb through the three directions of network virtualization, cloudification, and service orientation. We investigate the most representative technologies and the latest research progress in these fields, analyze the current problems and challenges, and provide corresponding suggestions on how to deal with them. Finally, we look forward to the future direction of technological development.