Experimenting SDN/NFV Solutions for Flexible Maritime Transport & Logistics (T&L) Services

Maritime Transport and Logistics (T&L) is a very complex sector that requires a continuous and adequate control of the goods to protect them and preserve their integrity while traveling over long distances. However, T&L platforms are usually characterized by limited computing resources and poor digitalization, which makes their management difficult and inefficient. In this context, the adoption of technological trends like Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) in terrestrial-satellite networks, enables a new breed of IoT-based T&L platforms that can exploit improved network flexibility and service availability. In this work, we present and demonstrate the feasibility of an integrated maritime platform for the management of advanced T&L services, which builds upon an experimental setup. More specifically, this platform offers a flexible facility for the deployment and orchestration of 5G-based services in the context of maritime transportation. The focus of the paper is on the deployment of SDN/NFV solutions in this T&L platform and on showing the benefits they can bring for a dynamic and efficient management of the IoT traffic. Two scenarios for experimentation, namely SDN traffic management and NFV deployment at the satellite ground network, are presented to describe the main features that are implemented and evaluate their effect on the overall performance.