Virtual network planning for converged optical and data centers: ideas and challenges

With the development of WDM techniques and cloud computing, incorporating the optical backbone into data centers has received extensive attention. Virtual network (VN) planning has been proposed for this new networking paradigm by taking advantage of network virtualization. VN planning is essentially a united virtualization of optical and server resources in a collaborative manner. In this article, we first elaborate the advantages and problems of existing VN planning schemes through a comprehensive survey. Next, we provide a VN planning scheme. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy, particularly in the context of power outage and evolving recovery. Finally, the future opportunities and challenges are also discussed.