Quantifying trade-offs in resource allocation for VPNs

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) feature notable characteristics in structure and traffic patterns that allow for efficient resource allocation. A strategy that exploits the underlying characteristics of a VPN can result in significant capacity savings to the service provider.There are a number of admission control and bandwidth provisioning strategies to choose from. We examine trade-offs in design choices in the context of distinctive characteristics of VPNs. We examine the value of signaling-based mechanisms, traffic matrix information and structural characteristics of VPNs in the way they impact resource utilization and service quality. We arrive at important conclusions which could have an impact on the way VPNs are architected. We show that the structure of VPNs profoundly influences achievable resource utilization gains with various admission control and provisioning schemes.