--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please accept our apologies if you receive multiple copies of this CFP --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALL FOR PAPERS Scalable Computing and Communications ~Special Issue Call for Papers~ Software Defined Networking and Network Function Virtualization

IMPORTANT DATES: - Submission Deadline: 15 Dec 2017 - Notification of Acceptance: 31 March 2018 - Final Version: 31 May 2018

INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION With maturity of virtualization techniques, more and more services are to be run inside virtualized Data Centers vDCs) to further reduce Operational (OPEX) and Capital Expenditures (CAPEX). Aligned with the general trend of migrating traditional IT architectures to clouds (public or private), next generation of telecommunication networks such as 5G are also envisaged to be run on virtualized environments where network functions are deployed on virtual machines and/or containers instead of current proprietary equipment. Several proof-of-concept and initial industrial deployments proved that Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) are two promising technologies to enable such technological shift. Nevertheless, how to optimize and guarantee the performance of such virtualized systems is still challenging, because they require accurate modelling and efficient optimization to satisfy ever increasing demand of future networks.

To address several major issues raised by migrating network applications to virtualized infrastructures, this special issue aims to highlight challenges, state-of-the-art, and solutions to a set of currently unresolved key questions including, but not limited to: performance, modelling, optimizations, reliability, security, and techno-economic aspects of virtualized networks. By addressing these concerns, technology might be one step closer to understanding, and consequently, closing the gap between the performance of the next generation SDN/NFV-based networks and their current counterparts in proprietary boxes.

In this special issue, we welcome contributions that can shed light onto any of the following questions:

1. How virtualized networks should be designed to guarantee the performance required by network operations? 2. How virtualized services can be benchmarked and/or compared? 3. How virtualized services should be designed and/or operated to take advantage of cloud infrastructures and further provide flexibilities (such as load migration) that current proprietary equipment cannot provide? 4. How network functions should be placed and/or network capacities should be sliced to optimize network critical metrics such as throughput, delay, jitter, etc.? 5. How virtualized services should/can be efficiently orchestrated, monitored, and managed?

PAPER SUBMISSION: - Authors are encouraged to submit high-quality, original work that has neither appeared in, nor is under consideration by, other journals.

- All papers will be reviewed following standard reviewing procedures for the Journal. - Papers must be prepared in accordance with the Journal guidelines: www.springer.com/41122 - Submit manuscripts to: http://SCAC.edmgr.com.

Topics to be covered in this Special Issue are including, but not limited to: 1. Model, benchmark, and/or optimize operation of SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 2. Resource and/or content allocation for SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 3. Reliability and resiliency of SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 4. Dynamic/flexible construction and deployment of Service Function Chains using SDN/NFV technologies. 5. Fault detection and/or correction for SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 6. Architectures, applications, and use cases of SDN/NFV to provide networking services. 7. Monitoring techniques for SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 8. Deployment, management, and orchestration of SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 9. Business/economic aspects of SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 10. Security concerns of SDN/NFV-based networks and services. 11. Mobile and/or Wireless Networks enabled by SDN/NFV-based networks and services.