A blockchain-based NFV market in the multi-node edge computing network. (29th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Suhan; Wu, Jie
• Is Part Of: International journal of security and networks. Volume 18:Number 1(2023)
• Page Start: 52
• Page End: 64
• Publication Date: 2023-03-29
• Subjects: bargaining theory -- blockchain -- dynamic programming -- edge computing -- NFV market -- service chain; Computer networks -- Security measures -- Periodicals; 005.805
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1747-8405

Abstract

Currently, network function virtualisation (NFV) incorporates cloud computing (CC) and forms a market, providing elastic and cost-efficient chained network services. This paper considers a new NFV market in edge computing, where NFV providers deploy service chains on near-by EC nodes instead of remote data centres. An optimisation problem is formulated to minimise the deployment costs of a required service chain from an NFV provider's perspective, with user service delay guarantees. Due to its NP-hardness, we investigate two special network models, where we can turn to dynamic programming solutions. We propose a pricing mechanism based on bargaining theory to decide fair resource prices for EC nodes. To relinquish the full power of the NFV provider, we design a blockchain-based system to implement our algorithms using smart contract. Simulations are conducted and numerical evaluations are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of our solutions and the applicability of our system.