Modeling the Cost of Flexibility in Communication Networks

Communication networks are evolving towards a more adaptive and reconfigurable nature due to the evergrowing demands they face. A framework for measuring network flexibility has been proposed recently, but the cost of rendering communication networks more flexible has not yet been mathematically modeled. As new technologies such as software-defined networking (SDN), network function virtualization (NFV), or network virtualization (NV) emerge to provide network flexibility, a way to estimate and compare the cost of different implementation options is needed. In this paper, we present a comprehensive model of the cost of a flexible network that takes into account its transient and stationary phases. This allows network researchers and operators to not only qualitatively argue about their new flexible network solutions, but also to analyze their cost for the first time in a quantitative way.