Comprehensive Analysis of Network Slicing for the Developing Commercial Needs and Networking Challenges

Network slicing (NS) is one of the most prominent next-generation wireless cellular technology use cases, promising to unlock the core benefits of 5G network architecture by allowing communication service providers (CSPs) and operators to construct scalable and customized logical networks. This, in turn, enables telcos to reach the full potential of their infrastructure by offering customers tailored networking solutions that meet their specific needs, which is critical in an era where no two businesses have the same requirements. This article presents a commercial overview of NS, as well as the need for a slicing automation and orchestration framework. Furthermore, it will address the current NS project objectives along with the complex functional execution of NS code flow. A summary of activities in important standards development groups and industrial forums relevant to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is also provided. Finally, we identify various open research problems and potential answers to provide future guidance.

Automated summary

The article provides an overview of network slicing, its commercial importance, and the need for automation and orchestration. It also discusses the objectives of current network slicing projects and the complex execution of its code flow. Additionally, it summarizes activities in AI and ML standards development groups and forums, and identifies open research problems and potential solutions for future guidance.