5G Network Slicing

Dynamic network slicing to play a key role in 5G networks.

11:53 09 September 2017

Dynamic network slicing, which involves separating single wireless network into many, layered virtual networks, will be used to launch 5G, experts have said. The technique has similar concept to software-defined networking (SDN) that is currently being used in some fixed networking.

 

Right now, wireless network infrastructure is loosely shared among voice and data. With this new 5G-enabling technique, communications specific to a particular 5G application will be layered over the top of a common infrastructure, then software will manage the different service types.

 

“Sensors need to transmit small amounts of data sporadically, but frequently,” Dawn Bushaus writes in a TM Forum article. However, “an application, like remote surgery, needs huge amounts of bandwidth, extremely low latency and guarantees of availability and reliability” — thus the opportunity to provide adaptability for what will be a limited resource (like any other spectrum).

 

With network slicing, flexible zones will be created for each element, which will lie dormant when not in use. As such, 5G players believe that it is very important for network operators to able to orchestrate bandwidth, latency, capacity and reliability separately as distinct offerings.

 

Nokia leads a research project that aims to explore the practical uses of 5G network slicing in various industries.

 

Nokia is leading a 5G research project that focuses on exploring heavy communication usage in major cities frequented by tourists and establishing a secure and reliable communication in a seaport environment.

 

The research is participated by Deutsche Telekom, TIM, Samsung, Huawei and various universities and start-ups. With EU funding of €7.7 million, the project will focus on concepts such as inter-slice control, experiment-driven modeling and optimisation, cross-domain management and the cloud-enabled protocol stack. The participants will work by evaluating the performance of the architecture to figure out ways on how to improve resilience, security and resource elasticity.

 

Peter Merz, Head of End-to-End Mobile Networks Solutions at Nokia Bell Labs, said: "5G-PPP brings together a range of stakeholders from the communications technology sector and other industries. We follow a shared architecture of what the next-generation communications infrastructure needs to look like to enable and meet the network demands of the next decade.”

Network slicing, or the technique that separates single wireless network into several, layered virtual networks is expected to play a major role in launching 5G. It shares similar concept with software-defined networking that is now found in some fixed networking, where managers program network behavior.

 

Network slicing will allow more network function to be in operation at one time, on a shared infrastructure. This means that a single operator will be able to manage multiple, unique virtual networks that would require different latency, throughput and availability.

 

A network slicing model would ensure that each part of a system is optimized for different 5G vertical. This helps operators reduce costs, maximise resources, and offer more freedom in customisation, granting control, and the chance to test new 5G services. Due to the benefits it offers, those involved in the development and deployment of 5G connectivity are expected to prioritise network slicing. Otherwise, they risk being behind the pace on the application of this technique and the actual deployment data of 5G.