Abstract

The advent of network virtualization has redefined modern networking philosophies by allowing the partitioning of physical networks into virtual networks that are easily scalable, elastic, and efficient. The shift has been markedly critical to the function of applications in virtualized settings. This research examines the impact of network virtualization on key application performance indicators, including latency, throughput, packet loss, and resource utilization. The paper empirically assesses factors related to user experience and system performance by analyzing various virtualization technologies, including Software-Defined Networks (SDN), Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), and virtual overlay networks. The approach used entails deploying controlled benchmark applications on both virtualized and non-virtualized networks and measuring deviations from benchmark performance. Results indicate a strong correlation between the moderation of network performance overhead with virtualization and the presence of adaptive performance improvement schemes tailored to specific conditions. The efficiency of the hypervisor, placement of network functions, and orchestration policies significantly influence the responsiveness of the applications Additionally, the paper addresses the increasing scalability limitations of performance in cloud-native and edge-computing environments. There is a finding that indicates increased need for research 'effective intelligent resource management and adaptive network reconfiguration strategies in order to minimize latency and redundant bandwidth allocation bottlenecks'.