Empowering 5G Network Softwarization through Information Centric Networking (original) (raw)

Fifth generation (5G) systems are designed as flexible and programmable multi-service networking and computing infrastructures, with improved throughput, latency, and reliability performance. In this paper, we discuss our view about the role of Information-Centric Networking (ICN) in 5G systems and present some architectural perspectives for the ICN-5G deployment. The proposed architecture relies on a hybrid approach, which makes the best of the centralized software-defined networking and the distributed ICN delivery mechanism to effectively suit the mobility of users, contents and virtualized network/service functions. Its viability is showcased in a representative use case, against a legacy non-ICN approach.