Virtualisation and management of application service networks

Abstract

In a service ecosystem, organisations cooperate to achieve their goals. Some organisations provide application services while others consume these services, forming a web ofinterconnected services (referred to as service network). Multiple organisations or individuals (referred to as tenants) consume subsets of the services in a service network. They simultaneously share the same service network, which requires the virtualisation of the service network. The enactment and management of virtualised service networks is complex due to the heterogeneity in services, service networks, and tenants. This chapter analyses the characteristics of service networks and their virtualisation. It then presents an approach called Software-Defined Service Networking (SDSN) that applies the Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) model at the application level. This model is an abstraction of service network management functions that support the formation and management of virtualised service networks at runtime. We describe how a service network is virtualised and managed. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach with a prototype implementation, and validate our support for the virtualisation and management of services networks.