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Topic · Computer Networks and Communications

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. 9.9% 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%
3k
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+10%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
39% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Software-Defined Networks and 5G

Which countries lead Software-Defined Networks and 5G research?

By volume, China and India publish the most (2.4k and 1.2k works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 2.4k works
  2. 2 India 1.2k works
  3. 3 United States 950 works
  4. 4 Germany 277 works
  5. 5 Italy 243 works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 236 works
  7. 7 Canada 235 works
  8. 8 Spain 232 works
  9. 9 Japan 218 works
  10. 10 Brazil 213 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.

China: 39.1%India: 19.2%United States: 15.2%Germany: 4.4%6 others listed: 22.1%39%largest
China2,438 · 39.1%India1,200 · 19.2%United States950 · 15.2%Germany277 · 4.4%6 others listed1,376 · 22.1%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Software-Defined Networks and 5G research?

By volume in 2022-now, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications publishes the most Software-Defined Networks and 5G research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Beijing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina 161 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 79 works
  3. 3 Tsinghua UniversityChina 54 works
  4. 4 National University of Defense TechnologyChina 48 works
  5. 5 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 47 works
  6. 6 Xidian UniversityChina 47 works
  7. 7 CERCA InstitutionSpain 46 works
  8. 8 Beijing Jiaotong UniversityChina 45 works
  9. 9 State Grid Corporation of China (China)China 43 works
  10. 10 China Mobile (China)China 42 works

Who are the leading researchers in Software-Defined Networks and 5G?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Software-Defined Networks and 5G include John P. A. Ioannidis, Kai You Wang and Frede Blaabjerg.

  1. 1 John P. A. Ioannidis United States 317k citations
  2. 2 Kai You Wang China 224k citations
  3. 3 Frede Blaabjerg Denmark 203k citations
  4. 4 H. Vincent Poor United States 165k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Software-Defined Networks and 5G?

The most cited paper in Software-Defined Networks and 5G is "OpenFlow" (Nick McKeown, Tom Anderson, Hari Balakrishnan et al., 2008), with 8,532 citations. Next come "Random early detection gateways for congestion avoidance" (6,305) and "Software-Defined Networking: A Comprehensive Survey" (5,013).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 OpenFlow Nick McKeown, Tom Anderson, Hari Balakrishnan et al. · ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review 31 Mar 2008 8,532
2 Random early detection gateways for congestion avoidance Sally Floyd, Van L. Jacobson · IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking 1993 6,305
3 Software-Defined Networking: A Comprehensive Survey Diego Kreutz, Fernando M. V. Ramos, Paulo Esteves Veríssimo et al. · Proceedings of the IEEE Open access 19 Dec 2014 5,013
4 A generalized processor sharing approach to flow control in integrated services networks: the single-node case Abhay K. Parekh, Robert G. Gallager · IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking Jun 1993 3,732
5 A scalable, commodity data center network architecture Mohammad Al-Fares, Alexander Loukissas, Amin M. Vahdat · ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review 17 Aug 2008 3,201
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Software-Defined Networks and 5G research done?

The largest centres of Software-Defined Networks and 5G research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Nanjing (China), Chennai (India) and Shanghai (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Beijing.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 655 works
  2. 2 NanjingChina 186 works
  3. 3 ChennaiIndia 141 works
  4. 4 ShanghaiChina 133 works
  5. 5 Xi'anChina 125 works
  6. 6 ChangshaChina 122 works
  7. 7 GuangzhouChina 104 works
  8. 8 SeoulSouth Korea 93 works
  9. 9 TokyoJapan 91 works
  10. 10 BengaluruIndia 87 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Beijing44.0 works13×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Software-Defined Networks and 5G than the world average.

See Software-Defined Networks and 5G on the map

Where is the best place to study Software-Defined Networks and 5G?

Among universities, judged by research, University of Oulu, Northeastern University and University of Isfahan 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.

0%20%40%mean 25.12%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Nanyang Technologica…Northeastern Univers…University of IsfahanUniversity of Oulu
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of OuluFinland 67.223.4%8.7×19 +54.7%
2Northeastern UniversityUnited States 63.430.9%5.2×13 +41.6%
3University of IsfahanIran 61.530.6%7.4×8 +79.8%
4Nanyang Technological UniversitySingapore 59.731.2%2.1×13 +35.0%
5Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyChina 58.627.5%3.2×10 +27.4%
6Xidian UniversityChina 57.514.2%8.3×47 +21.0%
7Western UniversityCanada 57.328.4%2.2×10 +45.8%
8University of WaterlooCanada 56.325.4%4.2×18 -19.1%
9King Saud UniversitySaudi Arabia 54.624.3%1.8×13 +3.3%
10Singapore University of Technology and DesignSingapore 54.215.3%11.3×8 +126.7%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Software-Defined Networks and 5G, country by country

Is Software-Defined Networks and 5G research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 10% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Software-Defined Networks and 5G.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Software-Defined Networks and 5G as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.030% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Software-Defined Networks and 5G0.043% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Software-Defined Networks and 5G over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Software-Defined Networks and 5G9.7% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

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.

Questions people ask

Who leads 5G and network research?

By volume in 2022-now, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications publishes the most Software-Defined Networks and 5G research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University. By volume, China and India publish the most (2.4k and 1.2k works in 2022-now).

All 1,273 questions in the Question Catalogue

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