Virtual Network Mapping through Path Splitting and Migration

Abstract

Mapping multiple virtual network (VN) requests with constraints on virtual nodes and virtual links into a shared substrate network presents a significant challenge and is an NP-hard problem. In this paper, we propose a heuristic node and link mapping algorithm that handles online VN requests. The node mapping algorithm selects a substrate node that satisfies both a virtual node's resource requirement and the amount of requested available bandwidth. The link mapping algorithm focuses on mapping a virtual link to a substrate path or paths. In addition, path migration is used to migrate virtual links to different substrate paths, which maximizes the number of coexisting VNs in a substrate network and increases the revenue of the Infrastructure Providers (InP). Simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm offers better performance than existing mapping approaches.