A novel paths algebra-based strategy to flexibly solve the link mapping stage of VNE problems

One of the main challenges of network virtualization is the virtual network embedding problem (VNE) that consists of mapping virtual network demands in physical network resources. VNE can be decomposed into two stages: virtual node and virtual link mapping. In the first stage, each virtual node is mapped to a suitable node in the physical network whereas the second stage is in charge of mapping the links connecting virtual nodes to paths in the physical network that suit the virtual network demands.In this paper we propose the utilization of a mathematical multi-constraint routing framework called “paths algebra” to solve the virtual link mapping stage. Paths algebra provides the flexibility to introduce an unlimited number of linear and non-linear constraints and metrics to the problem while finding all the eligible paths in the physical network to perform the virtual link mapping resulting in better and more flexible embeddings.