Unified Slice Manager for Cross-Network QoS Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies face challenges in providing a unified network slice across 3GPP and non-3GPP networks, with existing solutions failing to coordinate resource-configuration and resource-activation to ensure consistent Quality of Service (QoS), security, reliability, and bandwidth end-to-end, especially when integrating different access, fronthaul, and backhaul technologies from multiple operators.
Innovation Solution
A two-tier slice management infrastructure is introduced, utilizing a unified Network Slice Management Function (uSMF) that employs an Information Model to represent slice and slice segment resources meta-data, allowing for coordinated management across 3GPP and non-3GPP networks without direct interfacing with network elements, using Slice Management Functions (SMFs) to allocate and activate slice segments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a unified network slice is provided across 3GPP and non-3GPP networks, then end-to-end QoS consistency is improved, but system complexity increases due to coordination between multiple operators and technologies
Solution Approach 1:
A unified Slice Management Function (uSMF) is introduced as an intermediary entity that coordinates between multiple Slice Management Functions (SMFs) across different networks. The uSMF receives slice requests, determines the required slice segments from different networks (3GPP and non-3GPP), and manages the allocation and activation processes, thereby ensuring end-to-end QoS consistency without requiring direct complex interactions between all network elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The network slice is divided into multiple slice segments, where each segment corresponds to a specific network (3GPP or non-3GPP). Each slice segment is independently managed by its respective SMF, allowing for decentralized management while maintaining overall coordination through the uSMF. This segmentation reduces the complexity of managing entire end-to-end slices as monolithic units.
2Productivity
If slice segments from multiple networks are coordinated, then resource allocation efficiency is improved, but coordination overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The uSMF performs preliminary determination of the required slice segments from different networks before actual resource allocation. By pre-identifying which networks and slice segments are needed to meet service requirements, the system avoids iterative coordination and reduces messaging overhead during the actual allocation process.
Solution Approach 2:
Each SMF provides feedback to the uSMF regarding the allocation status and characteristics of its slice segments. This feedback mechanism allows the uSMF to make informed decisions about resource allocation across networks, optimizing efficiency while maintaining manageable coordination through structured information exchange.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are described to enable a so-called ‘unified slice’, wherein the unified slice is technology-independent, i.e., constructed from different networking technologies, and spans multiple operators. The method provides an abstraction of a network slice and its segments, and a way to coordinate the end-to-end slice information collection, slice segment configuration and activation across multiple types of networks and operators. The system of invention has the task of coordinating configuration of an end-to-end slice, with user-specified slice parameters, by communicating with the respective slice managers; It receives information to generate an abstract model of each slice segment, and sends the required slice segment attributes to these slice managers so that they can activate the segment after translating them according to capabilities of their network technology.