Patent Number: 12,562,967
Date of Patent: February 24, 2026
Computer network platform for routing and virtualization
Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for instantiating virtual network functions (VNFs). In some embodiments, a computer network infrastructure device comprises a purpose-built router (e.g., a packet routing and forwarding device) and a virtual machine host. The virtual machine host instantiates VNFs and identifies a first function to be executed on the data packet based on an attribute associated with the data packet. Moreover, the virtual machine host identifies a first VNF from the VNFs that are instantiated based on a first function type executed by the first VNF and the first function to be executed on the data packet. The virtual machine host coordinates the first VNF to execute a first function on the data packet. The first VNF outputs a resultant data packet in response to executing the first function on the data packet.