What is Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

The chapter provides information as a first step for individuals who are thriving to get a bird's eye view of the aspects underlying the optical networking in the context of 5G technology. Apart from capacity requirement challenges targeted by 5G coverage, it requires a lot of fibers to be successfully provisioned to achieve formidable performance goals of 5G such as diversified capacity requirements, availability, and coverage issues. The goals could be achieved by the underlying optical network with a greater number of interconnected fiber paths. In 5G, the requirements of reliable and ultra-low latency services required at the access side of a network shape up the research and evolution of underlying optical segments spanning from core to access part of the network. The reconfigurability and security issues of the present mode of optical communication need to be addressed, and the proposals given by the researchers are summed up. The chapter includes a general framework and theoretical concepts behind machine learning and software defined networking paradigms.