Evaluating Cross-Domain Generalisation of Deep Learning Models in Network Traffic Classification: A Statistical and Experimental Analysis of VNF and PNF

Abstract This study utilises publicly available datasets to identify network behaviour patterns in Virtual Network Function (VNF) and Physical Network Function (PNF) traffic. Building on previous research that created the VNFCYBERDATA dataset that focused on VNF traffic, this work compares the VNFCYBERDATA dataset with PNF-based datasets, including CIC-IDS2017 and CIC-Bell-DNS-EXF-2021, as well as another PNF dataset collected as part of this study. The objective is to examine the differences an