SDN and NFV in 5G
Ying Zhang · 2017
As the next-generation mobile network, 5G is proposed when the number of user equipment (UE) and the surge in bandwidth has significantly increased. This chapter presents the 5G overview and its relation with software-defined networks (SDN)/network function virtualization (NFV). Then, it discusses service function chaining (SFC) in detail, which is a key concept in 5G deployment, and later presents the virtualization usage in 5G: virtualized evolved packet core (EPC). SFC enables the creation of composite (network) services that consists of an ordered set of service functions (SFs). SFs are network functions responsible for specific treatment of received packets. The chapter further discusses the SDN and NFV's use cases in the 5G network as two case studies. In particular, it first discusses their usage scenarios and challenges in the packet core network. Next, the chapter explains their usage in the edge of the telecom network, in the form of customer premise equipment.