Implementation of an SDN-Enabled 5G Experimental Platform for Core and Radio Access Network Support

Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) are very promising technologies for future 5G mobile networks, enabling network operators to enhance the flexibility, efficiency and ease of management of their networks. Although SDN is typically associated with wired networks, it is lately making steady advances in cellular networks. In this paper, we present the architecture of an SDN-enabled 5G experimental platform that employs SDN to support both the core and the radio access network.