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Many ongoing research activities relevant to 5 G mobile systems concern the virtualization of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) elements aiming for system scalability, elasticity, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. Virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) will principally rely on some key technologies, such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Cloud Computing, for enabling the concept of Mobile Carrier Cloud. The key idea beneath this concept, known also as EPC as a Service (EPCaaS), consists in deploying virtual instances (i.e., Virtual Machines or Containers) of key core network functions (i.e., Virtual Network Functions - VNF), such as the Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving GateWay (SGW), and Packet Data network gateWay (PGW) over a federated cloud. In this vein, an efficient VNF placement algorithm is highly needed to sustain the Quality of Service (QoS) while …