An architecture for creating and managing virtual networks

Reducing operational costs and increasing energy efficiency are critical for mobile operators. One accepted way to tackle these issues is to make use of virtualization to share the same physical infrastructure among several virtual networks. However, sharing physical infrastructure presents a number of challenges, such as security issues, conflicting hardware control, and fair resource sharing. In our earlier work, we analyzed these challenges and demonstrated how virtualized mobile operator networks can address them. However, to create and manage virtual mobile networks, an automated configuration system is required. This system must incorporate the diverse nature of technology, ownership, and geographic domains into an overarching single virtual network. This paper discusses the main challenges in creating such an architecture. We then present our proposed architecture and describe how it meets these challenges. To conclude, we present our experiences in the real-world implementation of this architecture.