Search Results (3)

With the advent of 5G networks, the demand for improved mobile broadband, massive machine-type communication, and ultra-reliable, low-latency communication has surged, enabling a wide array of new applications. A key enabling technology in 5G networks is network slicing, which allows the creation of multiple virtual networks to support various use cases on a unified physical network. However, the limited availability of radio resources in the 5G cloud-Radio Access Network (C-RAN) and the ever-increasing data traffic volume necessitate efficient resource allocation algorithms to ensure quality of service (QoS) for each network slice. This paper proposes an Adaptive Slice Allocation (ASA) mechanism for the 5G C-RAN, designed to dynamically allocate resources and adapt to changing network conditions and traffic delay tolerances. The ASA system incorporates slice admission control and dynamic resource allocation to maximize network resource efficiency while meeting the QoS requirements of each slice. Through extensive simulations, we evaluate the ASA system’s performance in terms of resource consumption, average waiting time, and total blocking probability. Comparative analysis with a popular static slice allocation (SSA) approach demonstrates the superiority of the ASA system in achieving a balanced utilization of system resources, maintaining slice isolation, and provisioning QoS. The results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed ASA mechanism in optimizing future internet connectivity within the context of 5G C-RAN, paving the way for enhanced network performance and improved user experiences. Full article

The 5G network is designed to serve three main use cases: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (uRLLC). There are many new technological enablers, including the cloud radio access network (C-RAN) and network slicing, that can support 5G and meet its requirements. The C-RAN combines both network virtualization and based band unit (BBU) centralization. Using the network slicing concept, the C-RAN BBU pool can be virtually sliced into three different slices. 5G slices require a number of Quality of service (QoS) metrics, such as average response time and resource utilization. In order to enhance the C-RAN BBUs utilization while protecting the minimum QoS of the coexisting three slices, a priority-based resource allocation with queuing model is proposed. The uRLLC is given the highest priority, while eMBB has a higher priority than mMTC services. The proposed model allows the eMBB and mMTC to be queued and the interrupted mMTC to be restored in its queue to increase its chance to reattempt the service later. The proposed model’s performance measures are defined and derived using a continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) model and evaluated and compared using different methodologies. Based on the results, the proposed scheme can increase C-RAN resource utilization without degrading the QoS of the highest-priority uRLLC slice. Additionally, it can reduce the forced termination priority of the interrupted mMTC slice by allowing it to re-join its queue. Therefore, the comparison of the results shows that the proposed scheme outperforms the other states of the art in terms of improving the C-RAN utilization and enhancing the QoS of eMBB and mMTC slices without degrading the QoS of the highest priority use case. Full article

Network slicing is considered a key feature of 5G and beyond cellular systems. It opens the door for new business models of mobile operators, enables new services, reduces costs with advanced infrastructure-sharing techniques, and improves heterogeneous traffic service. With slicing, the operators can tailor the network resources to the requirements of specific verticals, applications, and corresponding traffic types. To satisfy the heterogeneous quality of service (QoS) requirements of various slices, efficient virtualization and resource allocation algorithms are required. Such algorithms are especially crucial for the radio access network (RAN) because of the spectrum scarcity. This article develops DeSlice, a novel architecture for RAN slicing. DeSlice enables efficient real-time slicing algorithms that satisfy heterogeneous QoS requirements of the slices and improve the quality of experience for their end users. The article illustrates the advantages of DeSlice by considering the problem of the joint service of cloud VR, video, and web traffic. It develops the algorithms using DeSlice architecture and application-to-network communication. With simulations, it shows that, together, the architecture and the algorithms allow greatly improving the QoE for these traffics significantly. Full article