GENEVIZ: A Visual Tool for the Construction and Blockchain-Based Validation of SFC Packages

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) decouples the network package performed by network functions from dedicated hardware appliance by running Virtual Network Functions (VNF) on commercial off-the-shelf hardware. Network operators can create customized network services by chaining multiple VNFs, defining a so-called Service Function Chaining (SFC). Because NFV became technically mature recently, the building of such SFCs still needs in-depth knowledge about NFV technology and its descriptors. Furthermore, there is a lack of tools that help to simplify the creation of SFCs. This paper, introduces GENEVIZ, a tool that provides a user-friendly interface for the creation of new SFCs as well as for importing and adjusting acquired SFCs (e.g., from marketplaces of VNFs), in order to create new SFCs based on existing ones. Therefore, this work addresses as well data integrity and provides the functionality to store and validate SFCs through the use of blockchains. Three case studies are presented to provide evidence of the technical feasibility of the solution proposed.

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