1. A system comprising: one or more computers; a network event listener implemented on the one or more computers and configured to receive information about network events and to generate a real time or predictive view of network conditions; and a policy directed software defined network (SDN) controller implemented on the one or more computers and configured to, based on the real time or predictive view of network conditions, issue SDN commands to route Internet protocol (IP) network flows to a plurality of dynamically instantiated virtual Diameter resource instances executing on a hardware pool of a virtualized Diameter network, including determining that a first load at a first virtual Diameter resource instance recedes while a second load on a second virtual Diameter resource instance increases and, in response, reallocating hardware resources of the hardware pool from the first virtual Diameter resource instance to the second virtual Diameter resource instance.