On modeling and optimization for composite network–Cloud service provisioning

Networking plays a crucial role in Cloud computing, which calls for a holistic vision of combined control and optimization for both networking and computing resources. Essentially the services received by Cloud users are composite services that consist of not only Cloud computing functions but also networking services. Therefore, composite network–Cloud service provisioning becomes one of the main networking challenges in Cloud computing. In this paper we tackle the problem of modeling and optimization for composite network–Cloud service provisioning. We first present a system model in which a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) paradigm is given to facilitate convergence of network and Cloud services; then we formulate QoS-aware network–Cloud service selection as a variant of Multi-Constrained Optimal Path (MCOP) problem and propose an exact algorithm for solving this problem. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed algorithm is light-weighted and cost-effective in selecting services for composite network–Cloud service provisioning. Experimental results reported in this paper also validate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.