App2net: A platform to transfer and configure applications on programmable virtual networks

In programmable virtual networks, simple tasks, like installing software, can be extremely complex. This complexity occurs mainly because the code transfer and initial functional settings in network execution environments are not automated. In addition, the same tasks have different requirements in each service lifecycle stage. In this sense, we propose the App2net platform for enabling the transfer and configuration of network applications in programmable virtual networks that use heterogeneous execution environments. We also propose a taxonomy for grouping code transfer techniques and, based on such techniques, we develop models for code transfer. A prototype has been implemented and tested on realistic network topologies commonly found on the Internet. Results allow us to identify which models improve code transfer consuming fewer resources, regarding service lifecycle stages and network topologies.