Soft-defined heterogeneous vehicular network: architecture and challenges

HetVNETs can meet various QoS requirements for intelligent transport system services by integrating different access networks coherently. However, the current network architecture for HetVNET cannot efficiently deal with the increasing demands of a rapidly changing network landscape. Thanks to the centralization and flexibility of the Cloud-RAN, soft-defined networking can conveniently be applied to support the dynamic nature of future HetVNET functions and various applications while reducing the operating costs. In this article, we first propose the multi-layer Cloud-RAN architecture for implementing the new network, where the multi-domain resources can be exploited as needed for vehicle users. Then the high-level design of a soft-defined HetVNET is presented in detail. Finally, we briefly discuss key challenges and solutions for this new network, corroborating its feasibility in the emerging fifth-generation era.