Configuration cost vs. QoS trade-off analysis and optimization of SDR access virtualization schemes

Virtualization is seen as a killer application of software defined networking (SDN). Virtual radio access network (RAN) is an emerging concept for 5G and beyond 5G networks and it is gaining increased attention from both academia and industry alike. Moreover, due to the current telecommunication trend of increasing network traffic and decreasing revenue, telecom operators all over the world are looking for network function virtualization (NFV) to reduce network deployment and running cost by maximizing resource sharing. In this paper, we classify virtual RAN into three possible PHY-MAC models that leverage SDN for virtualizing the underlying RAN substrate. A novel multi-criteria utility function is also proposed to evaluate the trade-offs between network cost and achievable QoS from PHY-MAC layers perspectives of these virtual RAN models. Analytical results show that a hybrid virtualization model attains the optimal balance between network cost and QoS and hence is the best virtual RAN model.