A Metaheuristic Approach for the Virtual Network Embedding Problem

Network virtualization is considered a key technique for the future internet, working as an alternative for the "internet ossification" problem. Virtualization technology is considered a new paradigm of networks, allowing multiple virtual networks to co-exist in a common physical substrate independently. In this context, the Virtual Network Embedding problem arises, consisting of mapping virtual nodes and links in the physical network components while respecting their capabilities. The problem belongs to the NP-hard class, and aiming to provide good solutions in feasible time, a metaheuristic approach is developed. When fault tolerance is taken into account, an extension of the problem leads to the resilient network embedding problem. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method in comparison to literature methods and the tradeoff to provide resilience.