  Fifth-generation (5G) cellular wireless networks are envisioned to predispose
service-oriented, flexible, and spectrum/energy-efficient edge-to-core
infrastructure, aiming to offer diverse applications. Convergence of
software-defined networking (SDN), software-defined radio (SDR) compatible with
multiple radio access technologies (RATs), and virtualization on the concept of
5G software-defined wireless networking (5G-SDWN) is a promising approach to
provide such a dynamic network. The principal technique behind the 5G-SDWN
framework is the separation of the control and data planes, from the deep core
entities to edge wireless access points (APs). This separation allows the
abstraction of resources as transmission parameters of each user over the
5G-SDWN. In this user-centric and service-oriented environment, resource
management plays a critical role to achieve efficiency and reliability.
However, it is natural to wonder if 5G-SDWN can be leveraged to enable
converged multi-layer resource management over the portfolio of resources, and
reciprocally, if CML resource management can effectively provide performance
enhancement and reliability for 5G-SDWN. We believe that replying to these
questions and investigating this mutual synergy are not trivial, but
multidimensional and complex for 5G-SDWN, which consists of different
technologies and also inherits legacy generations of wireless networks. In this
paper, we propose a flexible protocol structure based on three mentioned
pillars for 5G-SDWN, which can handle all the required functionalities in a
more crosslayer manner. Based on this, we demonstrate how the general framework
of CML resource management can control the end user quality of experience. For
two scenarios of 5G-SDWN, we investigate the effects of joint user-association
and resource allocation via CML resource management to improve performance in a
virtualized network.
