A Cloud Native Management and Orchestration Framework for 5G End-to-End Network Slicing

Abstract

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) introduces network slicing for the provisioning of diverse network services in 5G. Additionally, boosted by cloud-based virtualization technologies, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is also adopted in 5G to enhance scalability and elasticity. 5G network elements are evolving to cloud-native deployment. However, existing end-to-end (E2E) network slicing frameworks do not embrace cloud native yet. In this paper, we present a MANagement and Orchestration (MANO) framework for the automation of end-to-end (E2E) network slicing with the implementations of the core network (CN) and transport network (TN) slices. The framework is a showcase that follows 3GPP network slice management and 5G core network slicing mechanism, integrates novel bandwidth management techniques, and exploits all open-source approaches with state-of-the-art cloud native technologies. We evaluate the resource overhead of the framework and service throughput under bandwidth policies.