Integrated SDN/NFV Orchestration for the Dynamic Deployment of Mobile Virtual Backhaul Networks Over a Multilayer (Packet/Optical) Aggregation Infrastructure

Abstract

Future 5G networks will bring important challenges to network operators such as the traffic load increase mainly due to the proliferation of mobile broadband communications. This will force Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) redesigning and investing on their infrastructures (e.g., new equipment for Radio Access Network-RAN-, backhaul, etc.) to cope with such data growth. Aiming at lowering both CapEx and OpEx, current networking trends on network virtualization, Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) provide an appealing scenario to flexibly deal with MNO's increase of traffic without over-dimensioning the deployed network resources. To this end, we rely on an implemented SDN/NFV orchestrator which automatically serves MNO capacity requests by computing and allocating virtual backhaul tenants. Such backhaul tenants are built over a common physical aggregation network, formed by heterogeneous technologies (e.g., packet and optical) that may be owned by different infrastructure providers. MNO's RAN traffic is transported towards mobile core network (i.e. Evolve Packet Core, EPC) where required backhaul resources are tailored to the capacity needs. The EPC functions are virtualized within the cloud (i.e., vEPC) leveraging the NFV advantages. This increases MNO flexibility where cloud resources are instantiated according to EPC needs. The goal of the SDN/NFV orchestrator is to jointly allocate both network and cloud resources deploying virtual backhaul tenants and vEPC instances for a number of MNOs with different service and capacity requirements. Each MNO's backhaul is isolated and controlled independently via a virtualized SDN controller (vSDN) deployed in the cloud. The SDN/NFV orchestrator architecture is detailed and experimentally validated in a setup provided by CTTC and ADVA. Specifically, upon an MNO request the orchestrator instantiates the vEPC and vSDN functions in the cloud and then composes the MNO's backhaul tenant over a multi-layer (packet and optical) aggregation network.

A Review on Software-Defined Networking Enabled Iot Cloud Computing

“…The design of the organization was approved on an exact testbed with OpenVSwitch and OpenStack [57], while the calculation was done in simulation. Fichera et al [59] exhibited in a detailed testbed setup for the organization of SDN crosswise over the edge, IoT spaces, and cloud in 5G benefits.…”

Network Service Chaining Using Segment Routing in Multi-Layer Networks

“…In this context, control plane functions, e.g., PCE have also proposed to be virtualized to guarantee replication service, improved synchronization and reliability [19]. The recent work in [20] extends the applicability to the 5G architecture. Virtual backhaul tenants with both virtual control and infrastructure are deployed connecting RAN and their virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) function residing in the cloud.…”

Experimental SDN control solutions for automatic operations and management of 5G services in a fixed mobile converged packet-optical network

“…Figure 7 (a) depicts the conducted validation through interconnecting (via OpenVPN tunnel) CTTC SDN/NFV orchestrator located at Barcelona, Spain, and the ADVA ONH in Meiningen, Germany. This work was reported in [23]. For the sake of completeness, the validation is only carried out at the control plane level.…”