Virtual Network Function Placement Optimization With Deep Reinforcement Learning

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) introduces a new network architecture framework that evolves network functions, traditionally deployed over dedicated equipment, to software implementations that run on general-purpose hardware. One of the main challenges for deploying NFV is the optimal resource placement of demanded network services in the NFV infrastructure. The virtual network function placement and network embedding can be formulated as a mathematical optimization problem concerned with a set of feasibility constraints that express the restrictions of the network infrastructure and the services contracted. This problem has been reported to be NP-hard, as a result most of the optimization work carried out in the area has focused on designing heuristic and metaheuristic algorithms. Nevertheless, in highly constrained problems, as in this case, inferring a competitive heuristic can be a daunting task that requires expertise. Consequently, an interesting solution is the use of Reinforcement Learning to model an optimization policy. The work presented here extends the Neural Combinatorial Optimization theory by considering constraints in the definition of the problem. The resulting agent is able to learn placement decisions by exploring the NFV infrastructure with the aim of minimizing the overall power consumption. The experiments conducted demonstrate that when the proposed strategy is also combined with heuristics, highly competitive results are achieved using relatively simple algorithms.