Service Function Chain Placement in Distributed Scenarios: a Systematic Review

Service Function Chain Placement in Distributed Scenarios: a Systematic Review | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Service Function Chain Placement in Distributed Scenarios: a Systematic Review Guto Leoni Santos, Diego de Freitas Bezerra, Élisson da Silva Rocha, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-563622/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 Sep, 2021 Read the published version in Journal of Network and Systems Management → Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The network function virtualization (NFV) paradigm is an emerging technology that provides network flexibility by allowing the allocation of network functions over commodity hardware, like legacy servers in an IT infrastructure. In comparison with traditional network functions, implemented by dedicated hardware, the use of NFV reduces the operating and capital expenses and improves service deployment. In some scenarios, a complete network service can be composed of several functions, following a specific order, known as a service function chain (SFC). SFC placement is a complex task, already proved to be NP-hard. Moreover, in highly distributed scenarios, the network performance can also be impacted by other factors, such as traffic oscillations and high delays. Therefore, a given SFC placement strategy must be carefully developed to meet the network operator service constraints. In this paper, we present a systematic review of SFC placement advances in distributed scenarios. Differently from the current literature, we examine works over the last 10 years which addressed this problem while focusing on distributed scenarios. We then discuss the main scenarios where SFC placement has been deployed, as well as the several techniques used to create the placement strategies. We also present the main goals considered to create SFC placement strategies and highlight the metrics used to evaluate them. Systems and Networking Network Function Virtualization Service Function Chain Distributed Scenarios Systematic Review Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 Sep, 2021 Read the published version in Journal of Network and Systems Management → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accept as is 26 Aug, 2021 Reviews received at journal 14 Jun, 2021 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Jun, 2021 Editor invited by journal 10 Jun, 2021 Editor assigned by journal 08 Jun, 2021 First submitted to journal 25 May, 2021 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-563622","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":33707068,"identity":"a219e94b-c033-4490-8c82-ab0084daa811","order_by":0,"name":"Guto Leoni Santos","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Federal de Pernambuco","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guto","middleName":"Leoni","lastName":"Santos","suffix":""},{"id":33707069,"identity":"ed7d8932-8ea6-4649-834e-a44fba0e72c1","order_by":1,"name":"Diego de Freitas Bezerra","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Federal de 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