How to Implement Network VNFs Orchestration in NS2

To implement Network Virtual Network Function (VNF) Orchestration in Network Simulator 2 (NS2) has essential to expand the simulation capabilities of NS2 to design the behaviour of VNFs, their deployment, and orchestration via a network. This process contains to describe VNF entities, handles their lifecycle, and orchestrating them effectively over a simulated network. The below is the implementation procedure to execute the VNF orchestration in NS2:

Step-by-Step Implementation:

  1. Understand VNF and NFV Orchestration Concepts
  • Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) are software-based network services such as firewall, load balancer that can be implemented on commodity hardware.
  • Orchestration contains to handle the lifecycle of VNFs that involves their deployment, scaling, and termination.
  • NFV Orchestrator: In the context of Network Function Virtualization (NFV), an orchestrator handles the resources and make sure VNFs are placed and associated optimally in the network.
  1. Set up NS2 Environment

Make certain that NS2 is installed on the machine and properly configured.

  1. Design VNF Data Structures

VNFs need to be signifying as objects in NS2. Each VNF will have attributes such as:

  • VNF Type (e.g., firewall, load balancer, etc.)
  • Resource Requirements (e.g., CPU, memory, bandwidth)
  • State (active, idle, or terminated)
  • Deployment Location (host/server)

We will need to modify or expand the C++ code in NS2 to describe these VNFs.

Example VNF Class in C++:

class VNF {

public:

std::string vnfType;    // Type of the VNF (e.g., firewall)

int cpu;                // CPU resources required

int memory;             // Memory resources required

int bandwidth;          // Bandwidth required for communication

bool isActive;          // VNF state (true if active)

VNF(std::string type, int c, int mem, int bw) {

vnfType = type;

cpu = c;

memory = mem;

bandwidth = bw;

isActive = true;

}

void activate() {

isActive = true;

}

void deactivate() {

isActive = false;

}

};

  1. Define NS2 Nodes as VNF Hosts

Each node in NS2 can be measured a VNF host (i.e., a server or physical machine where VNFs are deployed). we need to expand the node functionality to manage VNFs.

Example Node Extension for Hosting VNFs:

class VNFHost {

public:

int nodeId;                     // Node ID in the network

std::vector<VNF> vnfList;       // List of VNFs deployed on this node

int totalCPU;                   // Total CPU resources of the host

int totalMemory;                // Total memory of the host

int availableCPU;               // Available CPU resources

int availableMemory;            // Available memory resources

VNFHost(int id, int cpu, int mem) {

nodeId = id;

totalCPU = cpu;

totalMemory = mem;

availableCPU = cpu;

availableMemory = mem;

}

bool deployVNF(VNF newVNF) {

if (availableCPU >= newVNF.cpu && availableMemory >= newVNF.memory) {

vnfList.push_back(newVNF);

availableCPU -= newVNF.cpu;

availableMemory -= newVNF.memory;

return true;

}

return false;

}

void terminateVNF(VNF vnf) {

// Terminate a specific VNF and free up resources

availableCPU += vnf.cpu;

availableMemory += vnf.memory;

vnf.deactivate();

}

};

  1. Implement VNF Orchestration Logic

Now, we need to develop an orchestration mechanism that places and handles VNFs across the network nodes. The orchestration logic will:

  • Implement VNFs on appropriate hosts according to resource availability.
  • Scale VNFs (add or remove instances) depending on the demand.
  • Handle interaction among VNFs.

Example VNF Orchestrator (C++):

class VNFOrchestrator {

public:

std::vector<VNFHost> hosts;   // List of all hosts in the network

 

VNFOrchestrator(std::vector<VNFHost> h) {

hosts = h;

}

void deployVNF(VNF vnf) {

for (auto& host : hosts) {

if (host.deployVNF(vnf)) {

std::cout << “VNF deployed on host ” << host.nodeId << std::endl;

return;

}

}

std::cout << “Failed to deploy VNF due to insufficient resources.” << std::endl;

}

void scaleVNF(VNF vnf) {

// Logic to scale VNF instances if needed

deployVNF(vnf);  // Deploy another instance of the same VNF

}

void terminateVNF(VNF vnf) {

// Logic to find and terminate a specific VNF on the hosts

for (auto& host : hosts) {

host.terminateVNF(vnf);

}

}

};

  1. OTcl Script for VNF Deployment

To mimic VNF orchestration in NS2, write an OTcl script that describes the network, hosts, and VNFs, and then orchestrates their deployment.

Example OTcl Script:

# Create a Simulator object

set ns [new Simulator]

set nf [open out.nam w]

$ns namtrace-all $nf

# Create network nodes that will serve as VNF Hosts

set host1 [$ns node]

set host2 [$ns node]

set host3 [$ns node]

# Define duplex links between nodes

$ns duplex-link $host1 $host2 100Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $host2 $host3 100Mb 10ms DropTail

# Define VNFs and deploy them on the network

$ns at 1.0 “deployVNF host1 firewall”

$ns at 1.5 “deployVNF host2 load_balancer”

$ns at 2.0 “deployVNF host3 IDS”

# Scale VNF dynamically

$ns at 3.0 “scaleVNF host1 firewall”

# Terminate a VNF

$ns at 4.0 “terminateVNF host2 load_balancer”

# End the simulation

$ns at 10.0 “finish”

proc finish {} {

global ns nf

$ns flush-trace

close $nf

exit 0

}

$ns run

  1. Run the Simulation

After we have written the OTcl script and adapting the C++ code for VNF orchestration, run the simulation using the following command:

ns your_script.tcl

  1. Analyse the Results

Evaluate the generated trace files to assess the performance of VNF orchestration. We can observe on how VNFs are implemented, scaled, and ended via the network and assess resource utilization.

  1. Further Enhancements

Relaying on the complexity of project, we can further improve the VNF orchestration in NS2 by:

  • Implementing dynamic resource allocation: Execute a dynamic resource allocation mechanism according to real-time monitoring of VNF resource consumption.
  • Network slicing: we can mimic network slicing for numerous VNFs that distributed the isolated network resources to each slice.
  • Load balancing: Allocate the VNFs across multiple hosts enthusiastically to balance the load efficiently.
  • Security VNFs: Establish VNFs such as firewalls or IDS/IPS that handles the security features of the network.

In the end of the manual, we had discovered the simple implementation process on how to execute the Network Virtual Network Function (VNF) Orchestration that handles their lifecycle, and orchestrating them effectively over a network. If you need additional information regarding the VNF Orchestration we will provide it too.

Count on us for timely delivery and clear explanations. Reach out to us for a customized implementation of Network VNFs Orchestration using the NS2 tool