Mobile networks are a key element of today’s society, enabling fast access to informations and simplifying sharing and transmission of data. However, as cellular networks move from being voice-centric to data-centric, operators revenues are not able to keep pace with the predicted increase in traffic volume. Such pressure on operators return on investment has pushed research efforts towards designing novel mobile network solutions able to open the door for new revenue sources. Network virtualization and softwarization concepts have raised interest from several network operators and mobile infrastructure vendors: Ad-hoc end-to-end network facilities, called network slices, can be dynamically built on so that required network functions can be flexibly chained to guarantee different service requirements. Network slicing allows mobile network operators to open their physical network infrastructure platform to the concurrent deployment of multiple logical self-contained networks, i.e., network slices. Specially, enables mobile virtual network operators, over-the-top providers and industry vertical market players to request and lease resources from infrastructure providers, leading to new business opportunities. This work retraces the 3GPP standard evolution from network sharing principles, mechanisms, and architectures to future on-demand multi-tenant systems, dealing with the problem from the Infrastructure Provider perspective. In particular, it introduces the concept of the Network Slice Broker that represents the first solution to manage the Radio Access Network slicing requests in 3GPP standardcompliant systems. We analyze its behavior in a simulation environment, ending in a proof-of-concept implementation on commercial hardware.
Le reti cellulari sono un elemento fondamentale per la società moderna in quanto favoriscono un rapido accesso alle informazioni e agevolano la condivisione e la trasmissione di dati. Al fine di soddisfare le previsioni di crescita relative al volume di traffico, l’incremento della capacità della rete è al centro dell attività di investimento da parte degli operatori. Saranno necessari investimenti significativi, che potrebbero non essere adeguatamente ripagati dal profitto finale. Questa pressione ha orientato gli sforzi nel campo della ricerca verso la formulazione di soluzioni innovative, capaci di garantire nuove possibilità di reddito agli operatori di rete. I concetti di network virtualization and softwarization hanno destato interesse negli operatori e nei proprietari di infrastrutture per la possibilità di costruire Network Slices: reti virtuali strutturate dinamicamente su un’infrastruttura fisica condivisa, capaci di supportare allo stesso tempo servizi eterogenei con requisiti di traffico differenti. Network slicing consente agli operatori di rete mobile di aprire la loro piattaforma fisica a operatori moblili virtuali, over-the-top providers e industrie verticali, i quali potranno richiedere e affittare risorse di rete a seconda delle proprie necessità, generando così nuove e inesplorate opportunità di business. Questo lavoro ripercorre l’evoluzione dello standard 3GPP dagli standard di condivisione di rete, passando da prinicipi e meccanismi che ne hanno determinato la nascita, fino alla definizione di futuri sistemi multi-tenant, affrontando il problema dal punto di vista del gestore dell’infrastruttura. In particolare introduce il concetto di Network Slice Broker, che rappresenta la prima soluzione per la gestione di richieste nello scenario 3GPP. Abbiamo analizzato il suo comportamento in un ambiente di simulazione, concludendo con lo sviluppo di un testbed su hardware commerciale.
Design and validation of online slicing brokering solutions for future 5G networks
ZANZI, LANFRANCO
2016/2017
Abstract
Mobile networks are a key element of today’s society, enabling fast access to informations and simplifying sharing and transmission of data. However, as cellular networks move from being voice-centric to data-centric, operators revenues are not able to keep pace with the predicted increase in traffic volume. Such pressure on operators return on investment has pushed research efforts towards designing novel mobile network solutions able to open the door for new revenue sources. Network virtualization and softwarization concepts have raised interest from several network operators and mobile infrastructure vendors: Ad-hoc end-to-end network facilities, called network slices, can be dynamically built on so that required network functions can be flexibly chained to guarantee different service requirements. Network slicing allows mobile network operators to open their physical network infrastructure platform to the concurrent deployment of multiple logical self-contained networks, i.e., network slices. Specially, enables mobile virtual network operators, over-the-top providers and industry vertical market players to request and lease resources from infrastructure providers, leading to new business opportunities. This work retraces the 3GPP standard evolution from network sharing principles, mechanisms, and architectures to future on-demand multi-tenant systems, dealing with the problem from the Infrastructure Provider perspective. In particular, it introduces the concept of the Network Slice Broker that represents the first solution to manage the Radio Access Network slicing requests in 3GPP standardcompliant systems. We analyze its behavior in a simulation environment, ending in a proof-of-concept implementation on commercial hardware.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2017_aprile_Zanzi.pdf
non accessibile
Descrizione: Testo della tesi
Dimensione
5.42 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
5.42 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/133194