Σύγκριση μεθόδων

	Εισαγωγή στο Δίκτυο Οριζόμενο από Λογισμικό (SDN)	Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)	Εικονικοποίηση Λειτουργιών Δικτύου (NFV)
Πεδίο	Τηλεπικοινωνίες	Τηλεπικοινωνίες	Τηλεπικοινωνίες
Οικογένεια	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Έτος προέλευσης	2008	2001	2012
Δημιουργός	Nick McKeown et al.	IETF MPLS Working Group	ETSI NFV Industry Specification Group
Τύπος	programmable network paradigm	label-based forwarding paradigm	virtualization paradigm
Θεμελιώδης πηγή	McKeown, N., Anderson, T., Balakrishnan, H., et al. (2008). OpenFlow: enabling innovation in campus networks. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 38(2), 69-74.	Rosen, E. C., Viswanathan, A., & Callon, R. (2001). Multiprotocol Label Switching Architecture. RFC 3031.	ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). (2012). Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV); Architectural Framework. GS NFV 002 V1.1.1.
Εναλλακτικές ονομασίες	network virtualization, programmable networks	label switching, traffic engineering	virtual network functions, network slicing
Συναφείς	4	4	2
Σύνοψη	Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is a network architecture paradigm that decouples the control plane (routing decisions) from the data plane (packet forwarding). Introduced by McKeown et al. (2008) with OpenFlow, SDN enables network programmability by centralizing control logic in software-based controllers that direct forwarding behavior of simple programmable switches. SDN has transformed network operations, enabling rapid service deployment, traffic engineering, and cloud integration. It is now foundational in data centers and service provider networks.	Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a forwarding paradigm that prepends a short label to packets, enabling routers to make forwarding decisions based on the label rather than IP destination address. Introduced by IETF (2001), MPLS was designed to enable traffic engineering, VPN creation, and fast rerouting in IP networks. While MPLS complexity is high, it remains foundational in service provider backbones for traffic engineering and Quality of Service (QoS) provisioning.	Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is a paradigm that implements traditional network functions (firewalls, load balancers, gateways, packet inspection) as software running on commodity servers instead of proprietary hardware appliances. Introduced by ETSI (2012), NFV reduces capital and operational expenses by leveraging cloud infrastructure and enabling rapid deployment of network services. Combined with SDN, NFV enables on-demand service creation and network slicing. It is now central to 5G and cloud-native network architecture.