How can you use network virtualization to create new services and apps?

1 What is network virtualization?

Network virtualization is the process of abstracting the physical network resources and devices into virtual ones that can be managed and configured independently. Network virtualization can be implemented at different layers, such as the data link layer, the network layer, or the application layer. Network virtualization can also be classified into two types: external and internal. External network virtualization combines multiple physical networks into a single virtual network, while internal network virtualization divides a single physical network into multiple virtual networks.

2 Why use network virtualization?

Network virtualization can provide many advantages for creating new services and apps, such as flexibility to create and modify virtual networks without changing the physical infrastructure, scalability to add or remove resources and devices without affecting performance, security to isolate and protect virtual networks from each other and the physical network, and efficiency to optimize utilization and allocation of physical resources by sharing them among multiple virtual networks. Moreover, you can reduce cost and complexity of network management with centralized, automated tools.

3 How to use network virtualization for cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a model that provides on-demand access to shared computing resources and services over the internet. Network virtualization is an essential component of cloud computing, enabling the creation and delivery of cloud services and apps. By using network virtualization for cloud computing, you can create and deploy cloud services and apps faster and easier with predefined templates and configurations, as well as customize them to your specific requirements. Additionally, it increases security by isolating and protecting your cloud data and traffic from unauthorized access. It also ensures the availability and performance of your cloud services and apps with load balancing, failover, and backup mechanisms. Furthermore, network virtualization can help manage and optimize your cloud services and apps more efficiently by monitoring resource consumption and allocation. Dynamic scaling, provisioning, and migration techniques also allow you to adjust the capacity and quality of your cloud resources.

4 How to use network virtualization for software-defined networking?

Software-defined networking (SDN) is a paradigm that decouples the control plane and the data plane of the network, allowing the network to be programmable and adaptable to changing needs. Network virtualization is a key enabler of SDN, as it permits the creation and manipulation of virtual networks through software commands and policies. By using network virtualization for SDN, you can create and experiment with new network services and apps, implement and integrate new ones, and manage and improve existing ones. For example, you can use network virtualization to create and test different virtual network scenarios, prototype and validate new services, modify virtual networks according to specific needs, interconnect different virtual networks, monitor performance, analyze behavior, troubleshoot issues, and isolate and fix affected components or segments.

5 How to use network virtualization for network function virtualization?

Network function virtualization (NFV) is a concept that replaces traditional hardware-based network functions with software-based ones that run on standard servers or virtual machines. Network virtualization is a core technology of NFV, as it allows the creation and orchestration of virtual network functions (VNFs) that can be deployed and executed on different virtual networks. By using network virtualization for NFV, you can create and deliver new network services and apps, enhance and secure them, as well as optimize and scale them. This is accomplished by creating and combining different VNFs that provide specific network functionality, customizing and configuring them to suit your needs, applying different security and quality of service policies, updating and upgrading them to keep them compatible with the latest standards, creating and managing different virtual network slices to allocate your VNFs according to demand, and creating and utilizing different virtual network pools to share and reuse your VNFs.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?