Named Service Networking as a primer for the Metaverse

TL;DR

Metaverse-scale XR environments demand ultra-low-latency interconnection and multi-type data fusion across distributed assets. The authors propose Software Defined Named Service Networking (SD-NSN), a framework that combines an SDN-like management plane with a Named Service Networking data plane to deploy and execute chains of serverless microservices as service graphs along the Cloud-to-Thing continuum. Key contributions include named service charts/trees, a PST for pending services, a publish-based deployment mechanism, and a fully inline, source-routed execution model that enables decentralized, multi-device service fusion. The approach addresses Metaverse requirements for decentralization, interoperability, and dynamic service fusion, with potential practical impact on edge, cloud, and space-based infrastructure.

Abstract

Ubiquitous extended reality environments such as the Metaverse will have a significant impact on the Internet, which will evolve to interconnect a large number of mixed reality spaces. Currently, Metaverse development is related to the creation of mixed reality environments, not tackling the required networking functionalities. This article analyzes suitable networking design choices to support the Metaverse, proposing a new service-centric networking approach capable of incorporating low-latency data fetching, distributed computing, and fusion of heterogeneous data types over the Cloud-to-Thing continuum.

Figures (5)

• Figure 1: Software Define Named Service Networking framework
• Figure 2: Service Chart and Service Tree
• Figure 3: SD-NDN Signalling
• Figure 4: Source based routing table
• Figure 5: Service execution example