A Novel QoE-Aware SDN-enabled, NFV-based Management Architecture for Future Multimedia Applications on 5G Systems

This paper proposes a novel QoE-aware SDN enabled NFV architecture for controlling and managing Future Multimedia Applications on 5G systems. The aim is to improve the QoE of the delivered multimedia services through the fulfilment of personalized QoE application requirements. This novel approach provides some new features, functionalities, concepts and opportunities for overcoming the key QoE provisioning limitations in current 4G systems such as increased network management complexity and inability to adapt dynamically to changing application, network transmission or traffic or end-users demand.

💡 Research Summary

The paper introduces “QoE‑Softwarized,” a novel management architecture that combines Software‑Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to deliver future multimedia applications (FMAs) over 5G networks with a focus on user‑perceived quality (Quality of Experience, QoE). The authors begin by highlighting the growing latency‑sensitive use cases—IoT, live video streaming, virtual reality—and the associated challenges for service providers and mobile operators in the 4G era, namely high management complexity and the inability to adapt dynamically to changing traffic, application, or user demands.

Building on the programmable, centrally‑controlled nature of SDN and the flexibility of NFV, the proposed architecture consists of three logical layers. The bottom “QoE‑Aware SDN‑NFV Infrastructure Layer” hosts a set of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) that are organized into a Quality Service Function Chain (QSFC). Each VNF is parameterized to meet specific QoS/QoE metrics such as bandwidth, latency, jitter, and buffering for a given multimedia service. The middle “Control and Monitoring Layer” embeds an OpenFlow‑based SDN controller augmented with two newly defined entities: the QoE‑sdnFlow Monitor (which continuously measures QoE indicators for each traffic flow) and the QoE‑sdnFlow Manager (which translates those measurements into control actions). These modules perform traffic prediction, admission control, radio resource allocation, load balancing, and even user‑density forecasting, while also handling security functions.

The top “QoE Service System” contains databases for user profiles, service contracts, and service‑graph definitions. When a user requests a multimedia service (e.g., IPTV, VoIP, Video‑on‑Demand, or real‑time video conferencing), the service layer selects the appropriate set of VNFs, instantiates them via the SDN‑NFV orchestrator, and creates a service graph stored in a graph database. The QoE‑sdnFlow Manager then monitors the QoE feedback loop and dynamically re‑optimizes routing paths, reallocates bandwidth, or migrates VNFs in case of VM failures, thereby preserving end‑to‑end QoE.

A key conceptual contribution is the shift from traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to Experience Level Agreements (ELAs), which explicitly codify QoE targets in the contract between providers and users. By integrating QoE‑aware control directly into the SDN data plane, the architecture can adapt in real time to fluctuating network conditions, traffic bursts, or user mobility, something that QoS‑only solutions lack.

The paper also outlines several application scenarios. For live video conferencing, the architecture establishes a multi‑point‑to‑multi‑point VNF chain that guarantees sufficient bandwidth and low latency; for IPTV, a bandwidth optimizer and traffic prioritizer are placed in the service layer to ensure smooth playback. In all cases, the QoE‑sdnFlow Monitor supplies fine‑grained performance metrics, while the Manager enforces QoE‑based policies such as dynamic path selection and resource scaling.

In the conclusion, the authors claim that the QoE‑Softwarized framework can alleviate the management complexity and static nature of 4G networks, offering a scalable, programmable solution for 5G multimedia services. They acknowledge that the current work is primarily architectural and conceptual; concrete implementation details, performance evaluation, and large‑scale testing remain future research directions. Nonetheless, the introduction of QoE‑specific entities within the SDN controller represents a significant step toward QoE‑driven network orchestration in next‑generation mobile systems.