[Apologies if you got multiple copies of this invitation] The Eighth International Conference on Software Defined Systems (SDS-2021) http://emergingtechnet.org/SDS2021/index.php Gandia, Spain. December 6-9, 2021. *SDS 2021 CFP:* Next generation cloud systems will require a paradigm shift in how they are constructed and managed. Conventional control and management platforms are facing considerable challenges regarding flexibility, dependability and security that next generation systems will require. The cloud computing paradigm has gone part of the way towards alleviating some of the problems associated with resource allocation, utilization and management (e.g., via elasticity). However, many of the elements of a well-designed cloud environment remain “stiff” and hard to modify and adapt in an integrated fashion. This includes underlying networking topologies, many aspects of the user control over IaaS, PaaS or SaaS layers when such is needed, construction of XaaS services, provenance and meta-data collection, and so on. In many situations the problem may be because service abstraction is inadequate. Software Defined Systems (SDS) are systems that have added software components which help abstract actual IT equipment and other layers. One classical example, of course, are hypervisors. Such separation provides a great opportunity for system administrators to more easily construct and managing their systems through flexible software layers. Software Defined Systems include Software Defined Networking (SDN), Software Defined Storage, Software Defined Servers (Virtualization), Software Defined Datacenters (SDD), Software Defined Security (SDSec), and ultimately Software Defined Clouds (SDCloud) to name a few possibilities. Individual solutions and seamless integration of these abstractions remains in many respects a challenge. After the high success of the previous editions (SDS'2014, SDS'2015, SDS'2016, SDS'2017, SDS'2018, SDS' 2019, SDS' 2020), The Eighth International conference on Software Defined Systems 2021 (SDS'2021) will continue to be a forum for scientists, researchers, students, and practitioners to present their latest research results, ideas, and developments in the area of software defined systems – both components and their integration - and by implication advancement of next generation clouds. SDS 2021 aims to investigate the opportunities and in all aspects of Software Defined Systems. In addition, it seeks for novel contributions that help mitigating SDS challenges. That is, the objective of SDS 2021 is to provide a forum for scientists, engineers, and researchers to discuss and exchange new ideas, novel results and experience on all aspects of Software Defined Systems. SDS is Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE Spain Section. Researchers are encouraged to submit original research contributions in all major areas, which include, but not limited to: * Software Defined Systems support for Cloud Computing . * Software Defined Networking (SDN). * SDN concepts, architecture, and APIs. * Network Virtualization * SDN and OpenFlow protocol * Software Defined Radio * Cognitive Radio Networks . * Access Control models in SDN. * Software Defined Storage. * Storage Automation and Abstraction. * Policy-driven storage provisioning. * Software Defined Servers and Virtualization. * Software Defined Datacenters. * Software Defined Security o Security policies automation. * Self-management systems. * Autonomic Computing techniques. * Real-time load prediction model to optimize the user satisfaction. * Software Defined Systems Scalability. * Software Defined Systems optimization. * Software tools and frameworks to support SDS . * Software Defined Systems challenges and opportunities * Software Defined Systems surveys . * Social engineering, insider threats system for SDS. * Incident Handling and Penetration Testing with SDS. * Software Defined Systems support if IoT. * Security protocols in SDS. * Security and privacy of mobile SDS based cloud computing * Service-oriented architectures, service portability andP2P * Network virtualization and cloud-based radio access networks *Submissions Guidelines and Proceedings* Manuscripts should be prepared in 10-point font using the IEEE 8.5" x 11" two-column format. All papers should be in PDF format, and submitted electronically at Paper Submission Link. A full paper can be up to 8 pages (including all figures, tables and references). Submitted papers must present original unpublished research that is not currently under review for any other conference or journal. Papers not following these guidelines may be rejected without review. Also, submissions received after the due date, exceeding length limit, or not appropriately structured may also not be considered. Authors may contact the Program Chair for further information or clarification. All submissions are peer-reviewed by at least three reviewers. Accepted papers will appear in the SDS Proceeding, and be published by the IEEE Computer Society Conference Publishing Services and be submitted to IEEE Xplore for inclusion. Submitted papers must include original work, and must not be under consideration for another conference or journal. Submission of regular papers up to 8 pages and must follow the IEEE paper format. Please include up to 7 keywords, complete postal and e-mail address, and fax and phone numbers of the corresponding author. Authors of accepted papers are expected to present their work at the conference. Submitted papers that are deemed of good quality but that could not be accepted as regular papers will be accepted as short papers. Length of short papers can be between 4 to 6 pages. *Important Dates* *Submission Date: 5 September, 2021* Notification to Authors: 10 October, 2021 Camera Ready Submission: 30 October, 2021 *Contact:* Please send any inquiry on SDS 2021 to Emerging Tech. Network Team at: emergingtechnetwork@gmail.com