  Next-generation networks, based on SDN and NFV, are expected to support a
wide array of services, including vehicular safety applications. These services
come with strict delay constraints, and our goal in this paper is to ascertain
to which extent SDN/NFV-based networks are able to meet them. To this end, we
build and emulate a vehicular collision detection system, using the popular
Mininet and Docker tools, on a real-world topology with mobility information.
Using different core network topologies and open-source SDN controllers, we
measure (i) the delay with which vehicle beacons are processed and (ii) the
associated overhead and energy consumption. We find that we can indeed meet the
latency constraints associated with vehicular safety applications, and that SDN
controllers represent a moderate contribution to the overall energy consumption
but a significant source of additional delay.
