DaVinci: dynamically adaptive virtual networks for a customized internet

Running multiple virtual networks, customized for different performance objectives, is a promising way to support diverse applications over a shared substrate. Despite being simple, a static division of resources between virtual networks can be highly inefficient, while dynamic resource allocation runs the risk of instability. This paper uses optimization theory to show that adaptive resource allocation can be stable and can maximize the aggregate performance across the virtual networks. In the DaVinci architecture, each substrate link periodically reassigns bandwidth shares between its virtual links; while at a smaller timescale, each virtual network runs a distributed protocol that maximizes its own performance objective independently. Numerical experiments with a mix of delay-sensitive and throughput-sensitive traffic show that the bandwidth shares converge quickly to the optimal values. We demonstrate that running several custom protocols in parallel and allocating resource adaptively can be more efficient, more flexible, and easier to manage than a compromise "one-size-fits-all" design.