Policy-based resource management in virtual network environment

Network virtualization offers users flexibility and controllability in their network. Virtual network users directly customize their own network topologies for a specific purpose by leasing physical resources from physical network providers. However, the autonomic topology managed independently by each user can lead to the instability or performance degradation. We present a framework for policy-based resource management applied to the virtual network environment. Our framework enables sufficient flexibility and controllability for each user; at the same time, the physical network operator can regulate excessive resource usage by the users. We introduce a two-phase resource management model that adds a policy-based resource management function to the existing GMPLS architecture. In addition, we present a formulation of the optimal virtual network design problems reflected by two different requirements of users. We also developed network operation tools to demonstrate our framework.