Edge computing in SDN-IoT networks: a systematic review of issues, challenges and solutions

Software defined networks and the Internet of Things (IoT) are two major and emerging developments in networking that have much in common and their survival depends on each other. Software Defined Networking (SDN) is one of the 5G enabling innovations that can help design complex, manageable, cost-effective and adaptable networks. On the other hand, Edge Computing (EC) will do automatic analytical computing on data from sensors, network switches, or other devices instead of waiting for data to be returned to a centralized data store. The IoT also requires a decentralized Internet, as the demand for real-time data analysis is growing and centralized processing systems are being overrun. So, it is necessary to provide a solution to encompass the advantages of EC, IoT and SDN simultaneously, as an integrated platform. In this research, after presenting a brief explanation about the key points of the SDN, IoT, EC and related concepts, and recent articles in this regard are investigated. This systematic literature review (SLR) study focuses on different frameworks and platforms that meet the mentioned requirements by considering the advantages of integrating EC, SDN, and IoT technologies. This platform provides centralized management of heterogeneous devices and architectures and supports the problem of resource limitations in IoT. The short output of this literature contains the following: (1) presenting a summary of review studies and research articles in this area which have been published from 2013 till 2021; (2) providing some key technical questions; (3) presenting some different technical classifications to categorizing the characteristics and features of EC and SDN in IoT; (4) discussing the key challenges; (5) Presenting future directions for research and open issues.