SDN based Control and Management of WLANs in the 3GPP 5G Network

The exponential growth in mobile broadband usage [1] has catalyzed the need for high data rate communication systems. In this regard, activities for standardizing the next generation mobile broadband system, known as the Fifth Generation(5G) system are underway. The 5G system also enables the integration of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) for providing cost-effective broadband connectivity. It is therefore imperative to find solutions for control and management of WLANs, while providing seamless inter-working capabilities with the cellular network. In this paper, we propose a novel Software Defined Networking (SDN) based architecture for efficient control and management of IEEE WLANs while providing a mechanism for smooth integration of WLANs within the 5G system.