Towards enforcing network slicing in 5G networks

Overview & Synopsis

The current architecture “one size fits all” of 4G network cannot support the next-generation 5G heterogeneous services criteria. Therefore, research around 5G aims to provide more adequate architectures and mechanisms to deal with this purpose. The 5G architecture is envisioned to accommodate the diverse and conflicting demands of services in terms of latency, bandwidth, and reliability, which cannot be sustained by the same network infrastructure. In this context, network slicing provided by network virtualization allows the infrastructure to be divided into different slices. Each slice is tailored to meet specific service requirements allowing different services (such as automotive, Internet of Things, etc.) to be provided by different network slice instances. Each of these instances consists of a set of virtual network functions that run on the same infrastructure with specially adapted orchestration. Three main service classes of network slicing have been defined by the researchers as follows: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (uRLLC). One of the main challenges when it comes to deploying Network Slices is slicing the Radio Access Network (RAN). Indeed, managing RAN resources and sharing them among Network Slices is an increasingly difficult task, which needs to be properly designed. This thesis proposes solutions that aim to improve network performance, and introduce flexibility and greater utilization of network resources by accurately and dynamically provisioning the activated network slices with the appropriate amounts of resources to meet their diverse requirements.