The management of virtualized resources is a main research field of our research group. Resources are virtualized in various different contexts:

In data centers, e.g., server hardware is virtualized by using system virtualization methods. This virtualization enables the creation of virtual machines that can be used similar to physical servers. Virtual machines can be created, destroyed, copied or moved from server to server. Furthermore, more than a single virtual machine can be hosted by a physical server. This is used to achieve a consolidation of virtual machines on a small number of physical servers, which saves hardware and energy. This kind of virtualization and consolidation can also be extended to office environments and home environments.

Another field that virtualizes resources is, e.g., network virtualization. Services, routers, and links are virtualized in order to form virtual networks with highly interesting properties. These networks are a possible approach towards a Future Generation Internet and provide important features like quality-of-service, high availability of services, or resilience against disasters. Virtualization can also be applied to Future Home Environments, to enable a fair sharing of resources among users while reducing energy consumption.

All these (and other) applications of virtualization require a management of virtual resources which is highly dynamic, mostly autonomic and often based on a decentralized approach.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and Overlay networks, which are a special variation of network virtualization, are also a research field of our research group. This involves the analysis of different P2P paradigms and their traffic patterns (signaling traffic and data traffic), cross-layer optimization, and mobility in P2P-overlays (Mobile P2P).

• Design u. Leistungsbewertung von Protokollen für P2P-Dienste in Mobilfunknetzen (ME 1703/4-2)
• P2P Opt- Performance Measurement and Management for Two-Level Optimization of Networks and Peer-to-Peer Applications (GR/S69009/01)
• Design u. Leistungsbewertung von Protokollen für P2P-Dienste in Mobilfunknetzen (ME 1703/4-1)
• Tran Gia, Informationstechnik GmbH, Würzburg, Germany, Design and Prototype of a Mobile P2P Architecture
• VHE (Virtualization in the Home Networking Environment – Design and Evaluation) - funded by EuroFGI, NoE, FP6 (IST 028022)
• AutoI (Autonomic Internet) funded by EU, STREP, FP7 Call1 (ICT-2007-1-216404)
• ResumeNet (Resilience and Survivability for Future Networking), STREP, FP7 Call2 (ICT-2007-24619)
• EuroNF SJDE VNREAL