Implementation of IMS/NGN Transport Stratum Based on the SDN Concept

The paper presents the development and verification of software and a testbed aiming to demonstrate the ability of two telecommunication network concepts—Next Generation Network (NGN) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN)—to cooperate. The proposed architecture includes components of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) in its service stratum and of the SDN (controller and programmable switches) in its transport stratum, providing flexible transport resource control and management via open interfaces. One important feature of the presented solution is the inclusion of ITU-T standards for NGN networks, which are not considered in other related works. The paper includes details regarding the hardware and software architecture of the proposed solution as well as results of the performed functional tests, which confirm its proper operation.