A decomposition approach for large virtual network embedding

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Benhamiche, Amal, Fouilhoux, Pierre, Létocart, Lucas, Perrot, Nancy, Schneider, Alexis
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Benhamiche, Amal
Fouilhoux, Pierre
Létocart, Lucas
Perrot, Nancy
Schneider, Alexis
author_facet Benhamiche, Amal
Fouilhoux, Pierre
Létocart, Lucas
Perrot, Nancy
Schneider, Alexis
contents Virtual Network Embedding (VNE) is the core combinatorial problem of Network Slicing, a 5G technology which enables telecommunication operators to propose diverse service-dedicated virtual networks, embedded onto a common substrate network. VNE asks for a minimum-cost mapping of a virtual network on a substrate network, encompassing simultaneous node placement and edge routing decisions. On a benchmark of large virtual networks with realistic topologies we compiled, the state-of-the art heuristics often provide expensive solutions, or even fail to find a solution when resources are sparse. We introduce a new integer linear formulation together with a decomposition scheme based on an automatic partition of the virtual network. This results in a column generation approach whose pricing problems are also VNE problems. This method allows to compute better lower bounds than state-of-the-art methods. Finally, we devise an efficient Price-and-Branch heuristic for large instances.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_17414
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A decomposition approach for large virtual network embedding
Benhamiche, Amal
Fouilhoux, Pierre
Létocart, Lucas
Perrot, Nancy
Schneider, Alexis
Discrete Mathematics
Networking and Internet Architecture
Virtual Network Embedding (VNE) is the core combinatorial problem of Network Slicing, a 5G technology which enables telecommunication operators to propose diverse service-dedicated virtual networks, embedded onto a common substrate network. VNE asks for a minimum-cost mapping of a virtual network on a substrate network, encompassing simultaneous node placement and edge routing decisions. On a benchmark of large virtual networks with realistic topologies we compiled, the state-of-the art heuristics often provide expensive solutions, or even fail to find a solution when resources are sparse. We introduce a new integer linear formulation together with a decomposition scheme based on an automatic partition of the virtual network. This results in a column generation approach whose pricing problems are also VNE problems. This method allows to compute better lower bounds than state-of-the-art methods. Finally, we devise an efficient Price-and-Branch heuristic for large instances.
title A decomposition approach for large virtual network embedding
topic Discrete Mathematics
Networking and Internet Architecture
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17414