Towards Virtualisation and Secured Software Defined Networking for Wireless and Cellular Networks

This paper centres on the study of concepts and applications of software defined networking (SDN) which is a network architecture that decouples the network control logic from the underlying network infrastructure elements. Separation of the control plane from the data plane is the basic principle of SDN. This gives a separation of functions which leads to better scalability, programmability, interoperation, performance and ease of management. SDN helps to keep up with the increasing demand for connectivity and bandwidth. This paper presents a review on how SDN can help drive development of network function virtualisation. Application of SDN to wireless and cellular data networks is also studied. Finally, vulnerabilities associated with SDN are discussed and recommendations are offered on how to make SDN more secure and reliable. A detailed architecture for a network function virtualised mobile cellular system is proposed as well as recommendations to improve security of these systems.