Dynamic control of real-time communications (RTC) using SDN: A case study of a 5G end-to-end service

The next-generation 5G mobile network architecture will support the rapid deployment of new, dynamic network services that are capable of responding to current network conditions and demands. Software-defined Networking (SDN), virtualization technologies and real-time analytics are the core components that will enable an adaptive and responsive 5G network. We present a case study of a real-time communications (RTC) video service that highlights the manner in which the core components (SDN, virtualization, analytics) allow a flexible and elastic 5G network. Because an end-to-end 5G network does not exist today, we construct one using artifacts from the current 4G/LTE network to host our dynamic network enabled RTC service. We identify three main insights from executing our service that could prove beneficial to the 5G network evolution: need for efficient horizontal control, need to limit identifier proliferation and the existence of control-plane network functions in service network-function graphs.