Router framework for secured network virtualization in data center of IaaS cloud

Abstract

Data center exploits network virtualization to fully utilize physical network resources by collocating tenants’ virtual networks. The virtual networks consist of sets of virtual routers connected by virtual links. The network virtualization must efficiently embed virtual networks on a physical network of the data center to balance load among physical resources to fully utilize the physical network. The virtual networks must also be securely managed so that they are not compromised by collocated users or a data center network administrator who has direct access to the physical network. In this paper, we propose a router framework in which virtual routers and links can be securely placed on physical router by adding a virtual plane on top of data and control planes, two abstract protocols and an enforcement of Federation Access Control Model (FACM). The two abstract protocols, viz. Secure Virtual Topology Embedding Protocol (SVTEP) and Node-and-Path Label Distribution Protocol (NPLDP) are presented along with a theoretical evaluation of the proposed router framework to fulfill all the aforesaid requirements.