My Research - I am a 3rd year PhD student in the network research group at Lancaster University. Starting out with developing an Operating System as part of my undergraduate thesis, I was introduced to the unikernel research domain. Unikernels are specialised Operating Systems that are bespoke to the function they target, in the case of my work, Network Function Virtualisation. My research investigates the challenges unikernels face when being integrated into an ever more heterogenous infrastructure.
My Role - Working with the network research group PhD team at Lancaster (Alex and Paul), my work sits comfortably between the unikernel system research done by Alex and the network service intents work done by Paul. Bringing these together though an automation architecture is my place in the system. Being able to automate the deployment and life of unikernel based network services also aides other NG-CDI areas such as intent based networking.
Vision for the Future - Network infrastructure is constantly showing its ability to evolve. The recent evolution towards an autonomous dynamic software-based infrastructure could not be a better home for unikernel technologies. However, to best leverage both the commodity hardware network infrastructure and the minimal resource footprint of a typical unikernel VNF, datacentre management platforms must embrace a less centralised approach. If NG-CDI helps achieve this, unikernel µVNFs may not only find a place within datacentres but bring further agility to edge and fog computing too.
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