Enabling technologies for future software-defined and virtualized wireless networks

最近，软件定义网络（SDN）和网络虚拟化受到学术界和工业界的极大关注。与传统模式相比，软件定义和虚拟化无线网络实现了无线网络控制的直接可编程性和底层无线电频谱和基础设施的抽象化，简化了网络管理和配置，提高了频谱效率和能源效率，降低了资本支出（CapEx）和运营支出（OpEx），并促进了网络演进。包括ETSI和3GPP在内的几个标准化组织正在为第五代（5G）及以后的蜂窝网络中实现软件定义和虚拟化无线网络铺平道路。尽管软件定义和虚拟化无线网络具有潜在的前景，但在软件定义和虚拟化无线网络的广泛部署成为现实之前，仍有一些重大的研究挑战有待解决。该项目的总体目标是促进网络体系结构和协议、虚拟资源管理和编排方案以及新服务的跨层设计的发展，这些新服务将使软件定义和虚拟化无线网络更加高效和有效;从而使其广泛部署切实可行并具有商业可行性。开发这些技术将需要涉及学术界，工业界和政府研究实验室的重要跨学科合作研究。在拟议的项目下，来自卡尔顿大学、马尼托巴大学、华为技术加拿大公司和Remotronic的研究人员组成的协同小组将与加拿大工业界合作，并向其转让有希望的成果。该项目将培养大量高素质的研究生和本科生人才，以满足加拿大日益增长的信息和通信技术行业的需求。

Recently, software-defined networking (SDN) and network virtualization have received tremendous interests from both academia and industry. Compared to traditional paradigms, software-defined and virtualized wireless networks enable direct programmability of wireless network controls and abstraction of the underlying radio spectrum and infrastructure, simplify network management and configuration, improve spectrum efficiency and energy efficiency, reduce the capital expenses (CapEx) and operation expenses (OpEx), and facilitate network evolution. Several standardization organizations, including ETSI and 3GPP, are paving the way for the realization of software-defined and virtualized wireless networks in the 5th generation (5G) and beyond cellular networks. Despite the potential vision of software-defined and virtualized wireless networks, several significant research challenges remain to be addressed before widespread deployment of software-defined and virtualized wireless networks become practical. The overall goal of this project is to contribute to the development of the network architectures and protocols, virtual resources management and orchestration schemes, and cross-layer designs for new services that will make software-defined and virtualized wireless networks more efficient and effective; and thereby make their widespread deployment practical and commercially viable. Developing these techniques will require significant interdisciplinary, collaborative research involving academia, industry, and government research laboratories. Under the proposed project, a synergistic team of researchers from Carleton University, the University of Manitoba, Huawei Technologies Canada, and Remotronic will work with, and transfer promising results to, Canadian industry. The project will prepare a large number of highly qualified personnel at the postgraduate and undergraduate level to serve the needs of the growing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in Canada.