Network Service Header draft ietf sfc nsh 01

• middlebox 7
• virtualization 5

https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-sfc-nsh-01

Service functions are widely deployed and essential in many networks. These service functions provide a range of features such as security, WAN acceleration, and server load balancing. Service functions may be instantiated at different points in the network infrastructure such as the wide area network, data center, campus, and so forth.

The current service function deployment models are relatively static, and bound to topology for insertion and policy selection. Furthermore, they do not adapt well to elastic service environments enabled by virtualization.

New data center network and cloud architectures require more flexible service function deployment models. Additionally, the transition to virtual platforms requires an agile service insertion model that supports dynamic and elastic service delivery; the movement of service functions and application workloads in the network and the ability to easily bind service policy to granular information such as per-subscriber state and steer traffic to the requisite service function(s) are necessary.