Abstract: Multicast is an effective point-to-multipoint data transmission method. Network function virtualization improves the efficiency and flexibility of multicast transmission by making the network functions software. In network function virtualization, multicast services can be achieved by deploying multicast service function chains. How to efficiently deploy multicast function chains is the key problem to be solved urgently. Considering that the users in multicast services may dynamically access, combined with the lack of current research in the scenarios, establish a dynamic multicast service chain deployment-adjustment model for the goal of minimizing network costs, integrating the migration of virtual network functions, and the time variability of network resources. Design a heuristic multicast service function chain deployment-adjustment algorithm and conduct simulation experiments for this model. Simulation results show that the algorithm can deploy and adjust multicast service function chains at an average of 1.21 times the optimal cost approximately, whose average running time is about 0.25% of the optimal solution. The proposed algorithm performs better, combined with the network cost and running time.

Key words: network function virtualization, multicast service function chain, user dynamic access, heuristic algorithm