5G Network Slicing: The role of Transport layer in E2E network slicing
Today’s networks are architected using static, purpose-built hardware. These fixed-function platforms are designed to serve mass consumers as a homogenous One-Network-Fits-All offering. Future 5G networks will be heterogeneous with compassable architectures that change based on network usage. In the 5G era, “users” are not just humans, but the billions of devices that will be provisioned to specific end users, specific verticals, and specific needs.
One of the most innovative aspects of the 5G architecture will be its reliance on 5G network slicing, which will let operators provide portions of their networks for specific users use cases — whether that use case is the smart home, the Internet of Things (IoT)factory, the connected car, or the smart energy grid.
What is 5G network slicing?
5G network supports slicing, a technique that divides a single physical network infrastructure into multiple virtual networks. Compared to existing 4G and LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 5G promises significant improvements in bandwidth and latency, making virtual network slices a possibility.
Brief of E2E network slicing
Each virtual network instance created by 5G network slicing provides an isolated, end-to-end network, optimized for a specific business purpose. These virtual networks can support a wide range of services and applications, which fall into three general categories:
· Enhanced mobile broadband: This high-bandwidth cellular service includes voice and SMS.
· Ultra-reliable and low-latency communications: Autonomous vehicle inter-communications is the typical use, where fast, highly reliable communications between self-driving cars is required.
· Massive machine-type communications: This includes IoT applications for wireless sensing and control devices, which might be found in a factory.
Orchestrating and automating network slicing
Orchestration sets the policies and methods that connections will be made through the network to deliver the commercial services with their related Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Then, when devices connect to the network, they will be attached to the appropriate network slice and they will receive the committed service that was commercially agreed.
Orchestration is the layer between all of the various network controllers. A network slicing SDN (software defined network) is an essential ingredient of the architecture used to manage traffic flows through the application program interfaces (APIs) of a central control plane. The control plane configures resources to deliver tailored services to the client through the application layer. SDN also includes an infrastructure layer, which contains basic network services and is responsible for data forwarding and rule processing from the control plane. The network slice controller (orchestrator) maps services and monitors the functionality between other layers.
Network Slicing in the Transport Layer
In the past, transport networks designed to support 2G/3G/4G services were successful in deploying Unified Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) architecture, which is a solid solution. However, this approach also presents many complexities when deployed in large networks, including complexity in the control plane, the number of control plane protocols, and the high number of device-level configurations needed for a service spanning many domains.
Because network slicing is an end-to-end partitioning of network resources and functions, the slice refers to every aspect of the 5G architecture including radio, transport network, mobile core infrastructure, and the orchestration infrastructure necessary to manage and operate the slice.
Transport SDN controller provides the domain level slicing capability in the transport network
According to the high-level network slice management framework published by 3GPP, the network slice management function (NSMF) and the network slice subnet management function (NSSMF) are the two key components required to develop a slicing solution. (Figure below). The NSMF will perform cross-domain network slice orchestration and the NSSMF will perform the intra-domain slice management. This architecture allows for the instantiation and configuration of network slice resources for each of the use case types — enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive IoT (mIoT) and ultra-reliable low latency communication (uRLLC) services — in each subnet or domain, dictated by the end-to-end network slice intent and governed by the end-to-end slice orchestrator.
Transport domain network slicing will be enabled by new IP routing technologies, such as segment routing, that can be configured to address key slice characteristics such as the QoS and path forwarding policy. A SDTN controller will supplement this to provide on-demand configuration, thereby providing a higher level of dynamic control for transport network slices.
Finally network slicing will be one of the most influential technologies used in the 5G network domain and will change the face of the telecommunication industry. The 5G era requires accommodating rapidly increasing devices and end users in its network with wide diversity. Thus, network slicing is the sought-out option. To enable network slicing, softwarisation and virtualisation of the underlying network infrastructure are needed, which, in turn, are fulfilled using SDN and NFV techniques.
Thank you!!
Monowar Hossain
Microwave Unit Head (Planning and Operation)
VEON, Bangladesh
Mobile: +8801962424691
E-mail:monowar.hossain@banglalink.net
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
