Predictive path routing algorithm for low-latency traffic in NFV-based experimental testbed

The growth of network traffic and the rise of new network applications having heterogeneous requirements are stressing the telecommunication infrastructure and pushing network management to undergo profound changes. Network management is becoming a core research area to push the network and its performance to the limits, as it aims at applying dynamic changes across the network nodes to fit the requirements of each specific network traffic or application. Here, solutions and frameworks based on software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) facilitate the monitorization and control of both the network infrastructure and the network services running on top of it. This article identifies and analyzes different implemented solutions to perform experiments on network management. In this context, an innovative experimental testbed is described and implemented to allow experimentation. A predictive path routing algorithm is later proposed and tested by designing experiments with specific network topologies and configurations deployed through the testbed. The algorithm exploits predictions on network latency to change the routing rules. Finally, the article identifies the open challenges and missing functions to achieve next-generation network management.