From: Building programmable wireless networks: an architectural survey
Application/network settings | Representative references | Description/main idea |
---|---|---|
Trend 1: software-defined wireless networks (SWNs) | ||
Applications | Â | Â |
Programmable wireless data planes | Proposed wireless-specific programmable data planes supporting OpenFlow/ SDN | |
Real-time analytics/reconfiguration | Metsch et al.[124] | Proposed using real-time analytics for service operation and management in mobile networks |
Distributed mobility management | Proposes using SDN concepts for routing optimization to support DMM | |
Efficient resource utilization | OpenFlow Wireless[128] | Allows infrastructural sharing using SDN principles |
Mobile traffic offloading | SoftOffload[129] | Proposed an SDN-based programmable framework, SoftOffload, for mobile traffic offloading. |
Traffic engineering | Traffic Engineering Survey[130] | Presents a comprehensive survey of the state of the art of TE in SDNs |
Optimized management | OpenFlow Wireless[128] | Allows optimized management of diverse wireless technologies using the OpenFlow protocol |
Heterogeneous technology handover | Yi et al.[131] | SDN can facilitate handovers between heterogeneous technology and across service providers |
Service orchestration | Odin-based LVAP abstraction[132] | Programmatic Orchestration of Wi-Fi Networks |
Security enhancement | Ding et al.[133] | Proposed an SDN-based framework for security enhancement in wireless mobile networks |
Network settings | ||
WLAN-based SWNs | SDN benefits include flexible control, better management, rapid innovations, etc. | |
Cellular mobile SWNs | MobileFlow[135] | Proposed a software-defined mobile network (SDMN) architecture |
 | SoftRAN[136] | Proposed a SDN-based RAN architecture based on virtualization for LTE |
 | SoftCell[137] | Proposed a SDN-based flexible cellular core network architecture |
WSN-based SWNs | Luo et al.[138] | Using SDN principles in WSNs to allow flexible and optimized resource utilization |
LRPAN-based SWNs | Costanzo et al.[139] | Using SDN in LRPANs for flexible management along with efficient resource utilization |
Trend 2: cognitive wireless networks (CWNs) | ||
Applications | ||
Cognitive networking | Allows optimization/ decision making from the perspective of the overall network | |
Adaptive routing | AI-enabled routing techniques/ protocols for network-optimized routing are presented | |
Dynamic spectrum access | DSA Survey[144] | Allows a secondary network to coexist with incumbent users belonging to the primary net |
Parameter optimization | Optimization survey[145] | Surveys self-organization paradigms and optimization approaches for CRNs |
Optimized MAC | Presents a comprehensive survey of optimizing MAC protocols for CRNs | |
Enhanced reliability | Reliability tutorial[148] | Presents a tutorial of how CRNs can improve reliability of wireless networks |
Improved security | Security Survey[149] | Surveys security threats in CRNs and how they can be addressed |
Network settings | ||
IEEE 802.11-based CWNs | These proposals address the issue of embedding cognition in IEEE 802.11 networks | |
IEEE 802.22-based CWNs | Cordeiro et al.[153] | Proposes a wireless regional area network (WRAN) to operate in TV-bands |
Cognitive white space networks | Yuan et al.[37] | Proposes the use of white spaces in TV-band space for dynamic spectrum access |
Cognitive sensor networks | Akan et al.[154] | Proposes a hybrid of CRNs and wireless sensor networks |
Cognitive vehicular networks | Di et al.[155] | Proposes the use of cognitive technology to interconnections of vehicular systems |
Trend 3: virtualizable wireless networks (VWNs) | ||
Applications | ||
Multi-tenancy support | MobileFlow[135] | Proposed a virtualized SDN-based framework suitable for multi tenant mobile networks |
Multi-provider support (infrastructure sharing for MVNOs) | Virtualization allows better support for multi-tenancy and multi-provider and infrastructure sharing, which is convenient both in terms of user experience and economics | |
Virtualized NIC abstraction | Commodity WLAN card[159] | TDM-based wireless virtualization to create a virtual WLAN using commodity hardware |
Virtual-APs | Hamaguchi et al.[160] | Virtual AP that uses virtualization technology to optimize deployment of AP |
Network settings | ||
WLAN-based VWNs | Commodity WLAN card VWN[159] | Virtualization of commodity WLAN technology |
 | Virtual Wi-Fi[161] | Virtual Wi-Fi to support fully functional wireless functionality inside VMs |
 | multi-purpose AP (MPAP)[162] | Proposed MPAP for virtualizing heterogeneous technologies on a SDR |
SDN-based VWNs | LVAP (based on Odin)[132] | Proposed Odin, based on SDN, to allow orchestration of programmable WLANs |
 | OpenAPI[163] | Proposed virtualizing the access network via Open APIs |
 | Virtual router as a service[120] | Proposed virtual-routers-as-a-service based on the RouteFlow architecture[119] |
 | eNodeB virtualization[164] | Proposed using OpenFlow for eNodeB virtualization in 4G-LTE networks |
Cellular mobile VWNs | Virtualization of RAN[156] | Proposed network virtualization substrate (NVS) to be used in LTE RANs |
 | WiMAX BS[157] | Proposed virtualizing resources in a cellular WiMAX base station to enable MVNOs |
 | Proposed virtualization of LTE environments | |
CRN-based VWNs | Spectrum Virtualization Layer[165] | This work proposed a virtualized layer for supporting DSA in general wireless networks |
Trend 4: cloud-based wireless networks (CbWNs) | ||
Applications | ||
Computation offloading | Utilized computation offloading through elastic execution between mobile device and cloud | |
Centralized (remote) management | Proposed centralized cloud-based approaches for managing WLAN | |
Real-time reconfiguration | Misra et al.[170] | QoS-guaranteed bandwidth redistribution among gateways in mobile cloud computing |
Mobile cloud computing | Survey[171] | A comprehensive survey of mobile cloud computing technology and applications |
 | Wireless network as a service[172] | Investigates the pragmatism of having wireless networking as a service |
 | Wireless network cloud[173] | Proposed wireless network cloud (WNC) to operate a wireless access network in cloud mode |
 | RAN as a service[174] | Proposed an architecture for offering cloud-based RAN-as-a-service |
Cloud-based virtualized WNs | CloudMAC[175] | Proposed an OF-based architecture for cloud processing of 802.11 MAC |
Network settings | ||
Cloud-based cognitive WNs | TV white space and clouds[176] | CWNs can perform increasingly complex tasks by offloading these computations to the cloud |
Cloud-based cellular WNs | Cloud-based 5G RAN[177] | Proposed using cloud technologies for flexible 5G radio access networks |
 | Cloud-based LTE[178] | Investigated how cloud computing can be applied to LTE cellular systems. Also, evaluated OpenStack, Eucalyptus, and OpenNebula for this task |