Software defined mobile networks
Nick McKeown · 2009
There is a general trend towards "cleaving apart" computer and networking systems, abstracting the layers below, and providing a platform for competition and innovation above. For computers this happened first with operating systems, and now virtualization. In wireless, software defined radios promise greater programmability, and faster innovation. But in-between, in the network, where the division of responsibility between hardware and software is less clear, the right programmable platform has been elusive, as we have explored active networks, network processors, and software routers. An emerging trend indicates that more and more of the infrastructure - for wired and wireless networks - will be defined in software outside the datapath.