Customizable virtual private network service with QoS

In this paper, we propose and implement Virtual Network Service (VNS). a value-added network service for deploying virtual private networks (VPNs) in a managed wide-area LP network. The key feature of VNS is its capability of providing a customer with a VPN that is customizable with management capabilities and performance properties comparable to a dedicated physical network. In addition, VNS ensures confidentiality of data and principals through the use of IPSEC. The main technique underlying VNS is the virtualization of routers in both control and data planes. Virtualization of the control plane enables customizable routing and signaling per VPN. On the data plane, packet forwarding and link bandwidth are virtualized. Virtualization of the forwarding mechanism on the data plane enables forwarding of traffic according to each VPN's topology and policies. Virtualization of the link bandwidth enables each VPN to have guaranteed quality of service (QoS) and customized resource management policies. We have developed a VNS prototype for deployment on the CAIRN network. The VNS prototype implements several resource management mechanisms including packet scheduling, signaling and runtime monitoring. A graphical user interface enables service providers to manage, configure and deploy VPNs remotely. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.