VIPER: Fine Control of Resource Sharing in Virtual Networks

We propose, implement, and evaluate VIPER, a system to isolate, provide QoS, and manage virtual networks. Contrary to previous approaches, VIPER guarantees a fine sharing of physical resources among virtual networks according to the different parameters that describe the service level agreements. The main components of the proposed system are the resource sharing manager and the virtual network admission controller. The resource sharing manager achieves isolation by dynamically adapting itself to the resource demands of each virtual network. Based on the data monitored by the resource sharing manager, the virtual network admission controller builds network profiles that serve as the basis for arbitrating the access of new virtual networks to the physical substrate. VIPER also supports two levels of QoS control, one for the virtual network operator and the other for the infrastructure provider, reducing delays by up to 18 times in the analyzed scenarios. We developed a prototype whose evaluation reveals that VIPER, when compared to the other solutions in the literature: (i) enforces contracted agreements, (ii) provides an efficient admission control of new virtual networks, and (iii) reduces physical resource utilization by up to 25%.