Performance Analysis of Lightweight Virtualization for Environments with Edge Computing Based on NFV

• Published in: 2023 4th International Conference on Smart Electronics and Communication (ICOSEC) pp. 687 - 691
• Main Authors: Syamala, Maganti, Kaliappan, Seeniappan, M P, Haripriya, Aishwarya, K.P., Venkatesh, R., Raturi, Anuj
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 20.09.2023
• Subjects: 5G technology; Containers; Edge computing; Hardware; Kata Containers; Mobile Edge Computing (MEC); Network Function Virtualization (NFV); Security; Task analysis; Telecommunication services; Unikernels; Virtual Machines (VMs); Virtual machining; Virtual Network Functions (VNFs); Virtualization; Web services
• DOI: 10.1109/ICOSEC58147.2023.10275860

The rate of internet adoption is rapidly increasing due to the growing number of new mobile users. Telecom service providers are seeking virtualization technologies to efficiently handle the added demand for network services. The use of NFV architecture allows for the implementation of network functions to be done in virtual machines, eliminating the need for outdated hardware and reducing reliance on standard hardware devices. Different types of virtualization techniques can be employed to execute network tasks, including VMs, containers, unikernels, and kata-containers. However, each technology has its own strengths and weaknesses, particularly in terms of agility and isolation. In IoT and edge computing, where resources are limited, it is important to analyze performance in order to provide quick responses. Containers are very flexible but there is a risk of security due to the shared kernel. Kata-containers provide a secure and lightweight virtual machine for running containers which resolves this security concern. This research paper takes a look at kata-containers being used in NFV and evaluates the performance of varied virtualization technologies by deploying web services. The findings suggest that kata-containers offer a lightweight VM that securely runs containers but with an added overhead of 20- 30% compared to docker containers. Unikernels, on the other hand, are well-suited for running high-context applications as it is secure and lightweight.