Dynamic Resource Aware VNF Placement with Deep Reinforcement Learning for 5G Networks

The increasing demand for fast, reliable, and robust network services has driven the telecommunications industry to design novel network architectures that employ Network Functions Virtualization and Software Defined Networking. Despite the advancements in cellular networks, there is a need for an automatic, self-adapting orchestrating mechanism that can manage the placement of resources. Deep Reinforcement Learning can perform such tasks dynamically, without any prior knowledge. In this work, we leverage a Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient Reinforcement Learning algorithm, to fully automate the Virtual Network Functions deployment process between edge and cloud network nodes. We evaluate the performance of our implementation and compare it with alternative solutions to prove its superiority while demonstrating results that pave the way for Experiential Network Intelligence and fully automated, Zero touch network Service Management.