A Network Slice Resource Allocation Process in 5G Mobile Networks

The fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) is associated with a wide spectrum of novel use cases that introduce a large number of very diverse requirements, regarding for instance throughput, latency, delay, availability and reliability. End-to-end network slicing is seen as a solution that allows to simultaneously accomplish those manifold requirements in isolated slices running on a shared network infrastructure. However, embedding those virtual end-to-end network slices into a common physical network containing wireless as well as wired network elements, while meeting all the different requirements, is still an unsolved problem. In this paper, a vision of an end-to-end network slice resource allocation process will be presented allowing to give fast feedback to a network operator or tenant on the feasibility of embedding new network slices. The associated research challenges will be discussed, especially focusing on the more complex Radio Access Network (RAN) resource allocation.