Software-Defined Networks and 5G
Software-Defined Networks and 5G is a research topic within Computer Networks and Communications. Science Explorer counts 31k research works in it since 1955. 20.4% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers covers a wide range of topics related to Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Virtualization, including OpenFlow, SDN controllers, Network Function Virtualization, 5G networks, traffic engineering, virtual network embedding, machine learning for networking, and security in SDN.
- Software-Defined Networking
- Network Virtualization
- OpenFlow
- SDN Controllers
- Network Function Virtualization
- 5G Networks
- Traffic Engineering
- Virtual Network Embedding
- Machine Learning for Networking
- Security in SDN
- Research works
- 31k fractional, since 1955
- In the world top 10%
- 6.3k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 20.4% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +40% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Software-Defined Networks and 5G research?
By volume, China and India publish the most (2k and 948 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China 2k works
- 2 India 948 works
- 3 United States 750 works
- 4 Germany 242 works
- 5 Italy 216 works
- 6 Canada 201 works
- 7 Spain 198 works
- 8 United Kingdom 197 works
- 9 Japan 190 works
- 10 Brazil 183 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Software-Defined Networks and 5G research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications publishes the most Software-Defined Networks and 5G research, followed by Tsinghua University and National University of Defense Technology.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications China 131 works
- 2 Tsinghua University China 48 works
- 3 National University of Defense Technology China 44 works
- 4 Xidian University China 41 works
- 5 Beijing Jiaotong University China 40 works
- 6 China Mobile (China) China 37 works
- 7 Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications China 34 works
- 8 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China China 32 works
- 9 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China 31 works
- 10 State Grid Corporation of China (China) China 30 works
Who are the leading researchers in Software-Defined Networks and 5G?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Software-Defined Networks and 5G include Frede Blaabjerg, Ion Stoica and Ian F. Akyildiz.
- 1 Frede Blaabjerg 12k citations
- 2 Ion Stoica 9.6k citations
- 3 Ian F. Akyildiz 8.2k citations
- 4 Rajkumar Buyya 7.8k citations
- 5 Randy H. Katz 5.7k citations
- 6 Hari Balakrishnan 5.5k citations
- 7 Xuemin Shen 5.1k citations
- 8 Zhu Han 4.7k citations
- 9 Dusit Niyato 4.5k citations
- 10 MengChu Zhou 4.4k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Software-Defined Networks and 5G research done?
The largest centres of Software-Defined Networks and 5G research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Nanjing (China), Shanghai (China) and Chennai (India). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Beijing.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- Beijing42.1 works14×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Software-Defined Networks and 5G than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Software-Defined Networks and 5G?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Oulu, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Oulu Finland | 67.1 | 38.7% | 9.5× | 17 | — |
| 2 | Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications China | 65.6 | 20.8% | 10.8× | 34 | +200.4% |
| 3 | Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications China | 63.4 | 12.4% | 29.0× | 131 | +100.8% |
| 4 | Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications China | 62.8 | 25.0% | 9.4× | 20 | +215.6% |
| 5 | École de Technologie Supérieure Canada | 62.4 | 19.3% | 21.1× | 16 | +231.2% |
| 6 | Xidian University China | 58.9 | 21.8% | 7.6× | 41 | +159.4% |
| 7 | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Spain | 56.3 | 12.9% | 9.2× | 21 | +149.5% |
| 8 | Carleton University Canada | 55.3 | 18.9% | 7.7× | 16 | +324.2% |
| 9 | EURECOM France | 53.4 | 22.2% | 61.2× | 10 | — |
| 10 | Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Italy | 53.4 | 12.6% | 12.8× | 9 | +303.1% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Software-Defined Networks and 5G research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 40% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Software-Defined Networks and 5G.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.