Abstract
The paper addresses the question how the benefits of active networking, such as customized packet processing in the data path and flexible service management, can be achieved in a telecom environment. More precisely, we ask: How can a network provider, whose infrastructure is based on active networking technology, support a large number of customers, all of which independently install, run, and manage their own active services in the provider's domain? We propose a framework that defines the interactions between customer and network provider for the purpose of service provisioning and service management. The key concept in this framework is a generic active service, called the Virtual Active Network (VAN) service, which is offered by the provider to its customers. The goal of the paper is to demonstrate that our framework can be realized in an active telecom environment with considerable benefits for both customers and providers. To prove this point, we discuss the realization of a VAN provisioning and management architecture on ANET, an active networking platform we have developed, and we show how a customer installs and manages active services on this platform.