VNPaaS: Realizing Platform as a Service using Network Function Virtualization

Abstract: The advent of cloud computing is causing a far reaching impact on traditional IT infrastructures and has drastically changed the way traditional businesses operate. Platform as a service is a cloud computing model that provides a platform for application developers and enterprises with all the necessary hardware, software, runtime and development tools that are necessary to build, test and deploy applications without having to worry about infrastructure maintenance and upgrades. But traditional PaaS solutions are inflexible and unsuited for real-time scaling and dynamic bandwidth requirements of today�s enterprises. With network function virtualisation, it�s possible to replace existing network functions with virtualized functions to realise a Virtual Network Platform as a Service model that provides users with run-time scaling, resource pooling, dynamic resource allocation and customization capabilities making it a viable alternative to traditional Platform as a Service solutions.

Keywords: Network Function Virtualization, Platform as a Service, Virtual Network Functions, Virtual Machines, cloud computing, orchestration, customization, scaling.