Survivable Virtual Network Link Shared Protection Method Based on Maximum Spanning Tree

Network virtualization allows multiple independent and mutual non-interfering virtual networks (VNs) to run simultaneously on a shared substrate network (SN) providing a promising method for overcoming the network ossification. Substrate infrastructure failures occur frequently, most of which are substrate link failures. This has created a research hotspot in the field of survivable VN. In this paper, we add to the research by analyzing the substrate link failures and proposing a survivable VN link shared protection method based on the maximum spanning tree. First, an integer linear programming formulation for the survivable VN link shared protection is established to minimize the backup link bandwidth ratio. Second, an efficient VN mapping algorithm based on optimal matching is designed to make full use of the limited substrate resources. This mapping algorithm that fully considers the topological connections between nodes in the node mapping phase improves the acceptance ratio and the long-term average revenue to cost ratio. Finally, a maximum spanning tree link protection algorithm is proposed, and a reasonable sharing mechanism of backup link resources among different VNs is designed to ensure the VN survivability and reduce the SN resource consumption. The experimental results show that our method not only guarantees the VN survivability but also reduces SN resource consumption.