Virtual bandwidth allocation game in data centers

Running multiple virtual networks over a real physical substrate is a promising way to provide agility in current data centers. However, such virtual networks may experience severely degraded performance due to the competing of network traffic on shared physical links. Based on the idea of the Stackelberg solution from non-cooperative game theory, this paper presents a hierarchical game theoretic model for dynamic bandwidth allocation between virtual networks, which can be stable and can maximize the revenue of both infrastructure providers who manage the physical infrastructure and service providers who utilize the virtual networks to provide services. In the model, the data center owner as a leader designs a pricing mechanism for bandwidth allocation that attempts to drive the virtual networks to the social optimal solution, each virtual network as a follower chooses a willingness-to-pay to maximize its own profit. Experimental results show that the bandwidth allocation between virtual networks is efficient and fair.