Mobile operators and content providers in next-generation SDN/NFV core networks: Between cooperation and competition

Much of the traffic processing that today takes place at cloud servers on the Internet will be performed within the cellular core network. In such a scenario, different network entities, e.g., switches and servers, will belong to different parties, including traditional mobile operators and over-the-top content providers. The relationship between them is often termed coopetition: on the one hand, they are natural competitors; on the other hand, they can reap significant benefits from limited and defined cooperation. Our main purpose in this paper is to model these heterogeneously-owned next-generation networks and solve, within such a novel and complex scenario, the traditional VNF placement and traffic steering problems. Specifically, (i) we present an efficient, online algorithm to make placement and steering decisions, and (ii) evaluate its performance in a realistic scenario. We find that our algorithm would allow mobile operators and content providers to reduce their reliance on third-party vendors – hence the associated costs – by as much as 60%.