With the expansion and convergence of communication and computing, dynamic provisioning of customized networking and processing infrastructures, as well as resource virtualization, are appealing concepts and technologies. Therefore, new models and tools are needed to allow users to create, trust and enjoy such on-demand virtual infrastructures within a wide area context. This paper presents the HIPerNET framework we are designing and developing for creating, managing and controlling virtual infrastructures in the context of high-speed Internet. The key idea of this proposal is the combination of network- and system-virtualization associated with controlled resource reservation to provide fully isolated environments. HIPerNET's motivations and design principles are presented. Then we examine specifi cally how this framework handles the virtual infrastructures, called Virtual Private eXecution Infrastructures (VPXI). To help specifying customized isolated infrastructures, HIPerNET relies on VXDL, a language for VPXI description and modeling which considers end-host resource as well as the virtual network topology interconnecting them, including virtual routers. After the specifi cation, allocation and scheduling phases, HIPerNET helps in provisioning, deploying and confi guring virtual private execution infrastructures. This means, it triggers the dynamic confi guration of all the equipments involved. In this paper we concentrate on network confi guration, particularly to achieve network performance isolation. We also study and evaluate mechanisms to implement and confi gure virtual-link control. Experimental results obtained within the Grid'5000 testbed are presented and analyzed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
