Real-World Implementation of Function Chaining in Named Data Networking for IoT Environments

In this paper, we discuss how to implement function chaining in Named Data Networking (NDN), an incarnation of information centric networking technology, for real-world IoT environments. We explain our new architecture, called NDN-FC, for function chaining over NDN, and how to extend existing NDN software to support function chaining. The key features discussed in this paper are Interest and Data packet structure, forwarding methods, and segmentation and reassembly methods of a content. Even in IoT environments, it is possible that most content, such as image and video, does not fit into a single Data packet. Segmentation and reassembly of a content is therefore crucial. The feasibility of our proposed protocol for segmentation and reassembly is displayed through a prototype implementation. In order to support lightweight operation of functions, the implementation is extended to use Docker container technology to run functions. The performance of Docker implementation and virtual machine implementation are compared.