Abstract
Network Function Virtualization (NFV), produces the functions of the network through virtualization of hardware resources. Different networking components such as firewalls, load balancers, and IDS are provided as a service and rely purely on the cloud, which makes expanding and upgrading the network an easy and fast process. Network Functions (NF) normally require a tightly coupled infrastructure making the process of enhancing and expanding the network difficult. In NFV, the services are provided through different Virtual Network Function (VNF), which are combined into a Network Graph (NG) and delivered to the user as a package. We present here a pattern to describe VNFs. A pattern is an encapsulated solution to a problem in a given context; this pattern should be of value to system designers and users of NFV systems.