QoSMap: QoS aware Mapping of Virtual Networks for Resiliency and Efficiency

We describe QoSMap, an efficient and flexible mechanism for constructing virtual networks on a shared Internet substrate for applications having stringent QoS and resiliency requirements. Applications specify desired overlay topology and weighted network characteristics which serve as resource constraints desired by the application in meeting the QoS expectations. QoSMap uses these constraints to select an overlay consisting of high quality direct paths between nodes from a pool of candidate nodes and paths. In addition to the required overlay topology constructed from direct paths between nodes, QoSMap provides path resiliency by constructing alternate one-hop overlay routes via intermediary nodes having paths that meet or exceed the resource constraints. As a case study, we utilized QoSMap to form an overlay for an application requiring constraints on message delay and loss rates. We describe the design of QoSMap and show that it leads to higher quality and more resilient overlays than does a mechanism which addresses only the minimum QoS requirements of the application.