Defining and testing virtual federated networks across multiple cloud sites

Abstract

This article presents a federated network architecture which will be tested through different uses cases to analyze the performance and benefits of virtualized networks in a federated network environment, like download speed, latency, isolation and dynamic IP allocation via a single multi-site DHCP service. The tests will be made based in 3 scenarios: a physical network (WAN UPV), a virtual private network; and a virtual federated network. We will use the first scenario as our basis for all tests. After several tests, we detect a slight loss of performance when we go through different layers of virtualization in the federated environment, but small enough in comparison with the benefit that a federated network can give. We can have the interaction between different types of topology, cloud providers or independent partners where we can share resources through different sites. The article concludes that the benefits of a federated network environment are way bigger than the disadvantages.