Netiquette IQ Technical Term of The Day - Network Functions Virtualization

From whatis.com 10/2/14  ================================================= Network functions virtualization

Network functions virtualization (NFV) is an initiative to virtualize the network services that are now being carried out by proprietary, dedicated hardware. If successful, NFV will decrease the amount of proprietary hardware that's needed to launch and operate network services.  The goal of NFV is to decouple network functions from dedicated hardware devices and allow network services that are now being carried out by routers, firewalls, load balancers and other dedicated hardware devices to be hosted on virtual machines (VMs). Once the network functions are under the control of a hypervisor, the services that used to require dedicated hardware can be performed on standard x86 servers.  This capability is important because it means that network administrators will no longer need to purchase dedicated hardware devices in order to build a service chain. Because server capacity will be able to be added through software, there will be no need for for network administrators to overprovision their data centers which will reduce both capital expenses (CAPex) and operating expenses (OPex). If an application running on a VM required more bandwidth, for example, the administrator could move the VM to another physical server or provision another virtual machine on the original server to take part of the load. Having this flexibility will allow an IT department to respond in a more agile manner to changing business goals and network service demands.  The NFV concept, which was presented by a group of network service providers at the SDN and OpenFlow World Congress in October 2012, is being developed by the ETSI Industry Specification Group (ISG) for Network Functions Virtualization. ============================================  In addition to this blog, I have authored the premiere book on Netiquette, "Netiquette IQ - A Comprehensive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email". You can view my profile, reviews of the book and content excerpts at:  www.amazon.com/author/paulbabicki  If you would like to listen to experts in all aspects of Netiquette and communication, try my radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County New Jersey. ==========================================