The 5G network revolution will be enabled by deep integration of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to support multi-tenancy, per-user and per-application quality of service and experience. However, full softwarization and current SDN platforms may not be able to sustain the complexity and the heterogeneity of different requirements, for example, strict latency, jitter, high precision traffic and advanced monitoring. For such services, SDN/NFV needs to be boosted not only considering orchestration and control plane, but also data plane programmability. In this article, the potential of the P4 language is illustrated with the aim to show its disruptive novel functionalities at the data plane level currently not available in a SDN/NFV network, opening the way to new orchestration frameworks and enabling a novel autonomic and flexible network at the edge. Use cases, assessments and softwarized performance results are proposed and discussed in the edge and IoT scenario, targeting advanced traffic engineering, cyber security, multi-tenancy, 5G offloading, and telemetry, to demonstrate the feasibility of such an approach.

中文翻译：

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利用 P4 数据平面可编程性增强 5G SDN/NFV Edge


5G 网络革命将通过软件定义网络 (SDN) 和网络功能虚拟化 (NFV) 的深度集成来实现，以支持多租户、每用户和每应用程序的服务质量和体验。然而，完全软件化和当前的SDN平台可能无法维持不同需求的复杂性和异构性，例如严格的延迟、抖动、高精度流量和高级监控。对于此类服务，SDN/NFV 不仅需要考虑编排和控制平面，还需要考虑数据平面的可编程性。在本文中，阐述了 P4 语言的潜力，旨在展示其在目前 SDN/NFV 网络中不可用的数据平面级别的颠覆性新颖功能，为新的编排框架开辟道路，并实现新颖的自主和灵活网络在边缘。在边缘和物联网场景中提出并讨论了用例、评估和软件化性能结果，针对高级流量工程、网络安全、多租户、5G 卸载和遥测，以证明这种方法的可行性。