Mutes: Multi-Tenant Switching for 5G Network Slice Revenue Maximization

Abstract

Network slicing is a key enabler of multi-tenancy in 5G-and-beyond networks that satisfies the distinct requirements of different use-cases. As the density of tenants increases over time, admission requests may be put in waiting queues leading to impatient tenant behaviors. Due to such behaviors, tenants may frequently leave-and-join the slice admission queues in search for an alternate mobile network provider (MNO). This can be a severe problem when slices are leased and released on a short-term basis. In this paper, we argue that the instant behavior of a slice may deviate considerably from the predicted average behavior known to the tenant through a slice controller and thus gives rise to impatient tenant behaviors. To address this problem, we propose Mutes, a multi-tenant switching algorithm, that aids tenants in finding the best MNO. For a fixed number of tenants, we show that Mutes attains a Nash Equilibrium. We also show that Mutes stabilizes the system under strict admission conditions in scenarios where tenants are allowed to randomly move between MNOs. Through simulations, we justify that the proposed Mutes algorithm significantly improves the resource assignment performance and converges faster than state-of-the-art policies.