Experimental study of SDN-based evolved packet core architecture for efficient user mobility support

The mobility management architecture in current generation LTE networks results in high signaling traffic. In this chapter, we present an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) architecture based on Software Defined Networking (SDN) concepts. The proposed EPC architecture centralizes the control plane functionality of the EPC thereby eliminating the use of mobility management protocols and reducing mobility related signaling overheads. The architecture utilizes the global network knowledge with SDN for mobility management. The proposed architecture has been implemented in the ns-3 simulator. A prototype testbed has also been implemented using the Floodlight SDN controller, a Software Defined Radio platform and relevant software.