# Virtualization Functions (NFVI, VNF) **URL:** https://forum.networklessons.com/t/virtualization-functions-nfvi-vnf/5750 **Category:** Lessons Discussion **Created:** [December 18, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://forum.networklessons.com/t/virtualization-functions-nfvi-vnf/5750 "2018-12-18T13:47:32Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 3
### Author: ![lagapidis](https://cdn-forum.networklessons.com/user_avatar/forum.networklessons.com/lagapidis/32/4949_2.png) [@lagapidis](https://forum.networklessons.com/u/lagapidis) #### Post date: [August 16, 2019, 8:29am UTC](https://forum.networklessons.com/t/virtualization-functions-nfvi-vnf/5750/3 "2019-08-16T08:29:59Z")
Hello Umesh The NFVI as a framework has several components. These components can be separated into two categories: hardware and virtual. Among the hardware components are the Nexus series devices. Nexus devices essentially provide the physical connection to the virtualized NFVI environment. Looking at the diagram below, the nexus switches would fall under the “Hardware Network” component at the bottom right. ![image](https://cdn-forum.networklessons.com/uploads/default/original/2X/5/5cdf1d42f6ec6f3a089176765fbaff8bdc508522.png) This might sound philosophical, but I believe it will clarify some things. We live in a physical world, and the interfaces we require are physical So even if you virtualize a large part of servers and networks, you still need some interface to the physical world to connect those portions of the network that are indeed physical. That’s where the nexus switches come in. They are the physical interface to the NFVI environment. Only nexus devices support the Cisco NFV infrastructure and that’s why the are mentioned here. You can find out more about it at the following Cisco link: > **[Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI)](https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/service-provider/network-functions-virtualization-nfv/infrastructure/index.html)** > > Cisco Network Functions Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI) helps you maintain high availability of services, deploy faster, and reduce TCO by 40 percent. I hope this has been helpful! Laz --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.networklessons.com/t/virtualization-functions-nfvi-vnf/5750)._