Embedding virtual network in data center networks with wireless links

Virtual network embedding has been widely studied for decades in backbone network, as it provides a promising way to resolve the conflict between flexibility of higher layer applications and rigidity of lower layer hardware, by allowing multiple heterogeneous virtual networks designed for different big data services to coexist and share the same infrastructure underneath. On the other hand, as the advanced development of directional antenna, wireless technique has also been introduced into data center networks, denoted as hybrid data center networks (HDCN). HDCN shows its great potential to mitigate the over-subscription problem in higher level links in traditional data centers. However, how to implement network virtualization in HDCN such that all the wireless links can be sufficiently utilized remains a challenging problem. In this paper, we study virtual network embedding problem in HDCN environment, by jointly considering embedding virtual networks and scheduling the directional antennas. We first summarize this problem into an integer programming problem, then propose a heuristic algorithm to find solutions to this problem. Extensive simulations reveal that the proposed algorithm efficiently provides a near-optimal solution. These features make it a promising VNE solution to HDCN environment.