Formal verification of virtual network function graphs in an SP-DevOps context

Abstract

The role of software and its flexibility is becoming more and more important in todays networks. New emerging paradigms, such as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), are changing the rules of the game, shifting the focus on dynamicity and programmability. Perfectly aligned with this new spirit, the FP7 UNIFY European project aims at realizing this appealing vision by applying DevOps concepts to telecom operator networks and supporting the idea of fast network reconfiguration. However, the increased range of possibilities offered by the DevOps approach comes at the cost of designing new processes and toolkits to make SDN and NFV a concrete opportunity. In this paper we specifically focus on the verification process as part of the challenging tasks that must be addressed in this scenario and its fundamental role of automatically checking some desired network properties before deploying a particular configuration. Our preliminary results confirm the feasibility of the approach and encourage future efforts in this direction.