Cloud-Native Network Function
A Cloud-Native Network Function is a software-implementation of a network function, which runs inside a Kubernetes container and replaces a network function, which would traditionally be performed by a physical device. Cloud-Native Network Functions are a successor to Virtualized Network Functions, one of the components of Network Function Virtualization. The characteristics of Cloud-Native Functions are:
The Linux Foundation backed Cloud Native Computing Foundation project is actively supporting companies in contributing to open-source projects like Kubernetes or Prometheus, upon which Cloud Native Network Functions can be based on. The CNCF project also created a CNF Testbed, in order to facilitate a common test-ground for various cloud-native network functions. Custom Cloud-Native Network Functions are developed by several companies, such as Cisco, Ericsson, or Red Hat.
