End-to-end network slicing enabled through network function virtualization

Abstract

Wireless networks have gone through several years of evolution until now and will continue to do so in order to cater for the varying needs of users. These demands are expected to grow in the future, both in size and variability. Hence, the 5G technology considers these variabilities in service demands and potential data explosion which could accompany users' demands at the core of its architecture. To enable 5G mobile handle these foreseen challenges, network slicing [24] is seen as a way forward as its standardization is progressing. In light of the proposed 5G network architecture base on network slicing, it is essential to be able to determine the correct virtual machine (VM) flavours in which to host the right type of network function based on the slice service requirements. In order to determine this, we carried out series of experiments involving the deployment of different VM flavours which may be suitable for different slices.