Network slicing is a key to supporting different quality-of-service requirements for users and application in the 5G network. However, allocating network slices efficiently while providing a minimum guaranteed level of service in a mobile core is challenging. To address this question, in our previous work we proposed an optimization model to allocate slices. It provided a static and manual allocation of slices. In this paper, we extend our work to dynamically allocated slices. We propose a dynamic slice allocation framework for the 5G core network. The proposed framework provides user-interaction to request slices and any required services that need to run on a slice(s). It can accept a single or multiple allocation requests, and it dynamically allocates them. Additionally, the framework allocates slices in a balanced fashion across available resources. We compare our framework with the First Come First Serve and First Available allocation scheme.
A Practical Open Source Solution for End-to-End Network Slicing (POSENS) has been proposed by G. Aviles @cite_1 . POSENS uses open source software and hardware to create end-to-end slices. Authors used srsLTE for radio access network and open-air interface EPC for the core network. The independence of slices and performance throughput is discussed in the paper. It also supports an efficient and flexible deployment of network slices. L. Zanzi @cite_11 demonstrated a real testbed named OVerbooking NEtwork Slices (OVNES). In the testbed, authors considered three different vertical slices, i.e., Public Safety communications, enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB) for voice calls, and eMBB for Internet (best-effort). OpenEPC is used to emulate mobile core and several LTE devices to generate traffic.
@cite_1 @cite_11
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Network slicing represents a new paradigm to operate mobile networks. With network slicing, the underlying infrastructure is "sliced" into logically separate networks that can be customized to the specific needs of their tenant. Hands-on experiments on this technology are essential to understand its benefits and limits, and to validate the design and deployment choices. While some network slicing prototypes have been built for RANs, leveraging on the wide availability of radio hardware and open source software, there is currently no open source suite for end-to-end network slicing available to the research community. In this article we fill this gap by developing an end-to-end network slicing protocol stack, POSENS, which relies on a slice-aware shared RAN solution. We design the required algorithms and protocols, and provide a full implementation leveraging on state-of-the-art software components. We validate the effectiveness of POSENS in achieving tenant isolation and network slices customization, showing that no price in performance is paid toward this end. We believe that our tool will prove very useful to researchers and practitioners working on this novel architectural paradigm. The upcoming 5th generation (5G) of mobile networks is being designed to significantly improve the performance of the current network deployments by introducing more flexibility and scalability while, at the same time, optimizing the spectrum utilization and energy efficiency of radio communications. Among such novelties, Network Slicing is emerging as the key-concept in the 5G landscape, able to provide the means for the concurrent deployment of heterogeneous services over a common physical network. In this paper, we investigate current technologies, open issues and possible solutions while addressing the most critical requirement envisioned with the advent of advanced services, i.e., the provisioning of stringent end-to-end delay guarantees as a pillar of the novel Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) service type.