Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) technology is a key enabler for 5G network deployments. It brings in the benefits of centralized processing to support dense deployments and to reduce the operating costs. The flip side of C-RAN is it places stringent latency and bandwidth requirement on the fronthaul network connecting radio units and central units. In this work, we propose an efficient topology-aware synchronized packet generation scheme using a centralized SDN controller to reduce the overall network congestion. The study also provides an insight into packet-based SDN-enabled C-RAN behavior modeled as a network of queues and is analyzed by an extensive simulation using the traffic characteristics captured from a C-RAN testbed implementation. The analysis provides useful insights for network designers in enabling future C-RAN deployments. © 2019 IEEE.