The TAO algorithm for virtual network management

Virtual networks are an important tool for deploying new services on top of the Internet. We present the TAO algorithm to automatically manage the topology of virtual networks, allowing nodes to be added and removed automatically, and adjusting the topology to optimize performance. By automating the tasks of maintaining the set of nodes and configuring the tunnels between them, we can reduce the administrative costs and allow scaling to much larger virtual networks than what is currently practical. We focus primarily on the Active Networks testbed, or ABone, though our work has applications in all classes of virtual networks.