SDN-enabled Visible Light Communication System for Next Generation 6G Networks

As it is anticipated that, by the end of this decade sixth-generation (6G) network will be deployed all over the globe, new communication paradigms must be explored to satisfy the goals of the 6G systems like higher data rates, enhanced connectivity, and more efficient network topologies. However, traditional networking-based radio frequency (RF) solutions are already facing issues like interference management, lack of security, and high energy consumption. In this context, the combination of visible light communication (VLC) and software-defined networking (SDN) can play a crucial role. Recently, VLC has already emerged as an attractive solution due to its large untapped bandwidth and ability to coexist with conventional wireless technologies. On the other hand, the SDN-enabled core network can offer a centralized, programmable, dynamic, and robust networking architecture. Therefore, to support the demands of the future 6G networks and provide a highly secure, flexible, reliable, and cost-effective solution, this paper offers a software-defined VLC (SDVLC) network. Moreover, to evaluate the performance of the proposed SDN-based VLC framework, extensive simulations have been conducted by considering different scenarios and performance metrics. In comparison to conventional VLC systems without SDN integration, the results demonstrate significant improvements in throughput, latency, and overall network efficiency.

I. Introduction

With growing demands for higher data rates, better connectivity, improved security, and efficient network topologies, the development of next-generation sixth-generation (6G) networks has become a critical topic of research nowadays [1]. Conventional wireless communication technologies encounter issues in addressing the requirements of future 6G networks, leading to the exploration of novel approaches [2]. Moreover, to support the features of future 6G systems such as massive device connectivity, ultra-high system efficiency, exceedingly low delay, incredibly low utilization of energy, high level of user experience, and ultra-high reliability, existing radio frequency (RF) communication is insufficient [3].