This paper will cover a general introduction of the SDN architecture and it’s evolution with a focus on OpenFlow as the enabling technology and will focus on the applicability and different use cases in the context of home networking scenarios found in various research work done in the last 5 years in this domain. Also, the evolution around NFV in the data center will be covered as it’s applicability for consumer CPE devices.
Since these techniques are now becoming a commercial reality, with different vendors that provide solutions for CPE equipment, the paper will also cover the gaps and issues that still exist.
Finally, the paper will discuss a way forward in the industry to evolve current CPE design to allow these new technologies to complement the current network design in a more open way, leveraging a fully virtualized CPE architecture, complying with standards, and ultimately addressing the quest for more collaboration in the industry around open source and open standardization.