Artificial algae optimization for Virtual Network Embedding problems in 5G network slicing scenarios

Network slicing enables diverse scenarios within The Fifth Generation of Cellular System (5G) and beyond systems. Mapping virtual networks to their physical counterparts, known as the Virtual Network Embedding (VNE) problem, is challenging with mathematical complexities. While Linear Programming (LP) approaches can address the VNE problem, they may prove impractical due to the execution time required to obtain optimal solutions. Furthermore, meta-heuristic algorithms offer a promising alternative in balancing solution optimality and execution time. In this study, we propose the Artificial Algae Algorithm (AAA) as a solution for the VNE problem in network slicing scenarios specific to 5G. We compare the performance of AAA with other commonly used meta-heuristics, including Genetic Algorithm (GA), Differential Evolution (DE), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Since the evolutionary process of AAA consistently operates in three random dimensions, irrespective of the problem's dimensionality, the runtime performance of AAA remains unaffected by the number of virtual nodes, yielding execution times up to ten times faster than DE and PSO when considering 30 nodes. In that scenario, the proposed approach with AAA presented an improvement of more than 60% compared to DE and PSO in an execution time ten times lower.