Abstract
Virtual radio access networks (RANs) is the candidate solution for 5G access networks, the concept of virtualised radio resources completing the virtual RAN paradigm. This paper proposes a new analytical model for the management of virtual radio resources in full heterogeneous networks. The estimation of network capacity and data rate allocation are the model’s two main components. Based on the probability distribution of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio observed at the user terminal, the model leads to the probability distribution for the total network data rate. It considers different approaches for the estimation of the total network data rate, based on different channel qualities, i.e., optimistic, realistic and pessimistic. The second component uses the outcome of the first one in order to maximise the weighted data rate subject to the total network capacity, the SLAs (service level agreements) of Virtual Network Operators (VNOs), and fairness. The weights for services in the objective function of the resource allocation component enable the model to have prioritisation among services. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated in a practical heterogeneous access network. Results show an increase of 2.5 times in network capacity by implementing an access point at the centre of each cell of a cellular network. It is shown that the cellular network capacity itself can vary from 0.9 Gbps in the pessimistic approach up to 5.5 Gbps in the optimistic one. Finally, the isolation of service classes and VNOs by means of virtualisation of radio resources is clearly demonstrated.
Highlights
The monthly global data traffic is going to surpass 10 EB in 2017, as the result of the proliferation of smart devices and of traffic-hungry applications [1]
This paper extends the analytical model for the management of virtual radio resources, considering full heterogeneous access networks, and including both non-cellular (e.g., Wi-Fi) and cellular (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE and whatever comes in 5G–5th generation) networks
Obtaining a probabilistic relationship in the form of a probability density function (PDF), between the set of available resource units (RRUs) and network capacity is the goal in a first step, by having an estimation of network capacity, Virtual radio resource management (VRRM) allocates a portion of this capacity to each service of each Virtual Network Operators (VNOs)
Summary
The monthly global data traffic is going to surpass 10 EB in 2017, as the result of the proliferation of smart devices and of traffic-hungry applications [1]. In [15], two types of sharing are introduced: multi-operator RAN and multi-core network In the former, operators maintain a maximum level of independent control over their traffic quality and capacity, by splitting BSs and their controller nodes into logically independent units over a single physical infrastructure. In the latter, operators give up their independent control, by sharing the aforementioned entities in conjunction with the pooling of radio resources. In the same research path, the current paper, as well as [10], considers the virtualisation of radio resources over a full heterogeneous access network (i.e., a combination of cellular networks and WLANs (wireless local area networks)), over which pay-as-you-go CaaS is offered to VNOs
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