SDN-controlled topology-reconfigurable optical mobile fronthaul architecture for bidirectional CoMP and low latency inter-cell D2D in the 5G mobile era

We demonstrate the first SDN-controlled optical topology-reconfigurable mobile fronthaul (MFH) architecture for bidirectional coordinated multipoint (CoMP) and low latency inter-cell device-to-device (D2D) connectivity in the 5G mobile networking era. SDN-based OpenFlow control is used to dynamically instantiate the CoMP and inter-cell D2D features as match/action combinations in control plane flow tables of software-defined optical and electrical switching elements. Dynamic reconfigurability is thereby introduced into the optical MFH topology, while maintaining back-compatibility with legacy fiber deployments. 10Gb/s peak rates with <7 mu s back-to-back transmission latency and 29.6dB total power budget are experimentally demonstrated, confirming the attractiveness of the new approach for optical MFH of future 5G mobile systems. (C)2014 Optical Society of America