Virtual Network Embedding for Multi-Domain Heterogeneous Converged Optical Networks: Issues and Challenges.

Area of Science:

• Telecommunications Engineering
• Computer Networking
• Optical Networks

Background:

• Emerging 5G applications necessitate advanced optical networks.
• Network slicing, enabled by network virtualization, is key for diverse Quality of Service (QoS) requirements.
• Multi-domain heterogeneous converged optical networks face challenges in resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey state-of-the-art Virtual Network Embedding (VNE) works for multi-domain heterogeneous converged optical networks.
• To analyze VNE algorithms and their attributes for network slicing in 5G.
• To identify future research issues and challenges in VNE.

Main Methods:

• Literature analysis of Virtual Network Embedding (VNE) algorithms.
• Classification of VNE algorithms into three categories.
• Comparison of VNE algorithms based on node/link embedding, objectives, and network architecture.

Main Results:

• Discussion of the basic VNE problem, motivations, and performance metrics.
• Analysis of VNE algorithms considering various network aspects across domains.
• Identification of VNE algorithm attributes for selection and baseline establishment.

Conclusions:

• VNE is crucial for enabling network slicing in future optical networks.
• Further research is needed in areas like 5G scenarios, field deployments, and machine learning-based VNE.
• A taxonomy and comparative analysis of VNE algorithms are provided to guide future work.