Software-defined network virtualization: An architectural framework for integrating SDN and NFV for service provisioning in future networks

SDN and NFV are two significant innovations in networking. The evolution of both SDN and NFV has shown strong synergy between these two paradigms. Recent research efforts have been made toward combining SDN and NFV to fully exploit the advantages of both technologies. However, integrating SDN and NFV is challenging due to the variety of intertwined network elements involved and the complex interaction among them. In this article, we attempt to tackle this challenging problem by presenting an architectural framework called SDNV. This framework offers a clear holistic vision of integrating key principles of both SDN and NFV into unified network architecture, and provides guidelines for synthesizing research efforts toward combining SDN and NFV in future networks. Based on this framework, we also discuss key technical challenges to realizing SDN-NFV integration and identify some important topics for future research, with a hope to arouse the research community's interest in this emerging area.