Very High Data Rate Support for Mobile Cloud Services Using SDN-Based Heterogeneous Carrier Aggregation

Mobile traffic is currently the most important traffic on the Internet, both domestically and internationally. This is predominantly attributable to widespread cloud computing-based services on mobile networks. Fifth generation (5G) mobile networks are expected to comfortably accommodate this type of traffic by supporting 1,000 times faster speeds than conventional 4G. However, commercial implementation of 5G mobile is targeted for the year 2020. Therefore, interim accommodation approaches are needed. In essence, 5G mobile networks are an evolution of 4G in which a licensed spectrum that generates revenue from user data transfer is being considered. Consequently, more cost-effective methods that utilize the unlicensed spectrum are also desired. Meanwhile, concomitant with pursuit of miniaturization and reduction in weight, the number and types of network interfaces in recent mobile devices are increasing. We propose a method for carrier aggregation of multiple heterogeneous wireless links based on software-defined networking (SDN) that controls traffic and manages the wireless interfaces of mobile devices effectively when multiple radio access technologies are available. Evaluations conducted of the proposed method on an experimental testbed developed using the OpenStack cloud computing platform with aggregated multiple radio access technology environments indicate that it is feasible and provides higher data rate.