Modeling of Modern Router Architectures Supporting Network Virtualization

For the emerging concept of network virtualization where a multitude of virtual networks (VNs) coexist, the main challenge is to isolate and control the resources allocated for individual virtual networks. Realizing such resource allocation requires deliberate design of the router enhanced specifically for handling a large number of virtual network flows. This paper discusses fundamental challenges on modeling the architecture of modern routers for the support of the virtual networks. Our intention is to discuss strategies for scheduling the traffic on each isolated VN and to provide an elementary framework for evaluating the performance of the router extended to classify incoming VN traffic. Furthermore, we also present simulation results and discuss challenges and future directions encountered in the implementation and deployment of VNs.