US Patent 10193984 Architecture for enabling fine granular service chaining

A network device implements a method for providing a service chain in a network by instantiating services on demand using a lightning module. The lightning module provides the services as applications executed by a unikernel where the unikernel is supported by a hypervisor. The method further includes receiving authentication, administration and accounting (AAA) service authentication of a user by the lightning module, instantiating a special unikernel to monitor a session for packets from the user, and instantiating service chain unikernels identified in at least one unikernel configuration file, in response to receiving a packet from the user.