Search

The softwarization of networks is enabled by the SDN (Software-Defined Networking), NV (Network Virtualization), and NFV (Network Function Virtualization) paradigms, and offers many advantages for network operators, service providers and datacenter providers. Given the strong interest in both industry and academia in the softwarization of telecommunication networks and cloud computing infrastructures, a series of special section was established in IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management, which aims at the timely publication of recent innovative research results on management of softwarized networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By introducing rapid and innovative network functions, software-based networking and virtualization are fundamentally revamping how the communication infrastructures are designed, programmed and operated. Network slicing, mobile edge computing, new radio access networks, and programmable cloud-native services represent some of the key technical components of future network infrastructures, including 5G networks that started being commercialized in 2019. The third issue of the "Telecom Software, Network Virtualization, and Software Defined Networks" series features five papers that deal with critical aspects of future networks, such as the adoption of edge computing technologies for mobile networks; the use of network slicing for 5G access and mission-critical services; advanced techniques for virtualized network programmability; and automation of virtualized network security services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The five articles in this special section focus on telecommunications software, network virtualization, and software defined networks. The increasingly relevant and transformational role that software and virtualization are gaining in the telecommunications field today enables unprecedented levels of abstraction, disaggregation, distribution, extensibility, slicing, and programmability in network infrastructures and services. Software-based networking is radically changing the way communication infrastructures are designed, programmed, integrated, and operated, enabling rapid and innovative network functions and network services creation and deployment, and opening the door to a faster pace of innovation in the networking and ICT industry. Such transformation, referred to as "network softwarization," is propelled by the emergence of several network technologies and paradigms, like network programmability (NP), intent-based networking (IBN), multi-access edge computing (MEC), network slicing (NS), software defined networking (SDN), and network function virtualization (NFV), which are gaining traction in production environments, and are bound to be core technologies of the maturing 5G and beyond networks. However, there are still several daunting challenges that need to be addressed before "telecom software" solutions fully leverage these technologies and become mature enough to be widespread and adopted by the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]