A Federated CloudNet Architecture: The PIP and the VNP Role

We present a generic and flexible architecture to realize CloudNets: virtual networks connecting cloud resources with resource guarantees. Our architecture is federated and supports different (and maybe even competing) economical roles, by providing explicit negotiation and provisioning interfaces. Contract-based interactions and a resource description language that allows for aggregation and abstraction, preserve the different roles’ autonomy without sacrificing flexibility. Moreover, since our CloudNet architecture is plugin based, essentially all cloud operating systems (e.g., OpenStack) or link technologies (e.g., VLANs, OpenFlow, VPLS) can be used within the framework. This paper describes two roles in more detail: The Physical Infrastructure Providers (PIP) which own the substrate network and resources, and the Virtual Network Providers (VNP) which can act as resource and CloudNet brokers and resellers. Both roles are fully implemented in our wide-area prototype that spans remote sites and resources.