Opportunities and challenges in software defined networking and network function virtualization

Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) are the two emerging paradigms in networking. The control plane is physically separated from the forwarding plane and logically centralized in the SDN architecture. SDN overcomes many limitations in traditional network infrastructures by separating the network's control plane from the routers and switches. With the decoupling of control plane and data plane, the entire network is controlled by a centralized controller and network switches become simple forwarding devices. NFV is the initiation to give a virtualized platform to the network which is presently carried out by proprietary hardware. The NFV concept was introduced to increase the feasibility and scalability of networks. This paper mainly focuses on the research opportunities and challenges in the control plane and data plane in SDN and NFV.