# Intelligent Network Service Optimization in the Context of 5G/NFV
## 1 Introduction  
As the fourth industrial revolution unfolds, we bear witness to the emergence of immersive ideas and technologies such as autonomous vehicle interconnection, remote automated management, machine-to-machine interactions, and emergency response efficiency optimization. The scaling of these ecosystems to a metropolitan or even global magnitude forms a concept described as the Internet of Things (IoT), wherein sensors and actuators operate and interact with our environment in a seamless and energy-efficient way, making volumes of information available across interoperable platforms [1, 2]. However, legacy and on-premises architectures do not posses the capacity or the intuitiveness to accommodate or support the accessibility of IoT information. In order to materialize implementations of tremendous scale and ubiquitous distribution, commercial hosting infrastructures have transcended the limitations of obsolete technologies by embracing the common principles and patterns of cloud-native infrastructure (CNI) [3]. CNI contributed to the emergence of cloud-native computing (CNC), which constitutes an innovative approach in the development of globally scaled cloud-native applications (CNAs) [4, 5]. Nevertheless, universal distribution requires careful orchestration of data synchronization in order to secure its consistency. Low interaction latencies and IoT data consistency can only be achieved by including next-generation networks (NGNs) of equivalent scalability and flexibility. The indisputable state-of-the-art NGN candidate capable of integrating ideally with CNI is 5G [6]. This highly scalable, fifth-generation telecommunications technology standard offers more than just high speeds with low latency and increased bandwidth capacity. In fact, 5G is becoming dominant by incorporating novel concepts such as software-defined networks (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) [7]. Botharchitectures constitute the foundation for introducing functionality and resource disaggregation solutions to new business scenarios over NFV infrastructures (NFVIs) [8]. Hence, 5G incorporates virtualization functionalities, over either standard virtual machines (VMs) or operating-system-level virtualization containers [9, 10]. By doing so, it chains together virtual network functions (VNFs) and network services (NS), executing distinct processes not only on standard hardware appliances but also on CNC-enabled infrastructure [11]. Moreover, by means of network slicing, efficient VNF administration and maintenance can be achieved via its integrated management and orchestration (MANO) capabilities [12]. In this new digital era, where the boundaries of traditional computing are exceeded by entering the cyber-physical domain through robots, sensors, and autonomous processes, new vulnerabilities and attacks are introduced, affecting a wide range of real-time, mission-critical, and industrial control systems [13, 14]. Standardization, as well as network design, configuration, deployment, and operation, constitutes the bedrock of the telecommunication network security guidelines and is essential to meet the requirements of the broad cybersecurity environment. Furthermore, compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is mandatory and requires specialized human resources to study the regulations and then implement any changes in company procedures, IT applications, and infrastructures [15]. Nonetheless, the problems of self-adaptation and optimal placement of computational and networking CNI resources with near real-time responsiveness form the minimum common denominator that constrains the consolidation of CNAs of a global caliber and poses a threat to their functional effectiveness. To overcome this barrier, additional robust strategies should be adopted, while operating in unison with the MANO architecture. Thus, the MAPE framework was conceived as a shell for an overall CNA management and orchestration platform.