Hardware-accelerated network slicing in multi-tenant 5G networks and beyond

Abstract

Fifth-Generation Mobile Networks (5G), as the most recent generation of networks, presentsdiverging requirements imposed by different vertical industries and mainly by Mobile NetworkOperator (MNO)s which aim to reduce both Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) and OperationalExpenditures (OPEX) using novel technologies based on Mobile Edge Computing(MEC), Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) and multi-tenancy. These technologies allowto share physical infrastructures between different MNOs. However, this novel paradigmwill incur a downgrade system performance with a direct impact in the competitiveness andproductivity achieved. In order to adapt the current networking infrastructures to these heterogeneous5G scenarios, an evolution in the different components of the network is required,adapting current data planes to become more complex to cope with the multi-tenant 5G traffic.Also, the demanding requirements imposed by the generic 5G services, Enhanced MobileBroadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) and Ultra-Reliableand Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) associated with different use cases, imply thestudying of new network slicing solutions to provide network isolation support betweenMNOs who share the same physical infrastructure.To address the need that currently exists in network slicing implementations in the edgeto-core network segment of a 5G multi-tenant architecture, this research has designed andprototyped a hardware-based 5G data plane. This data plane provides the ability to control 5Gmulti-tenant traffic and also contains network slicing capabilities which allow the isolation ofthe traffic from different MNOs while using the same physical machine. The network slicingmechanisms achievable with this programmable data plane provide support for multiplecommunication services and also a mechanism to programme the user and the control planes. It allows the creation of 5G slices composed of a collection of Network Function (NF)s forspecific use cases. In the control plane, an Application Programming Interface (API), whichprovides full control of the network data path and the network slicing solution, has beenimplemented.This prototype has been applied to different use cases, such as security, Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) video streaming and URLLC, where the feasibility of this solution hasbeen tested. The security use case prototyped is based on a 5G firewall responsible for theprotection of the edge and core network segments of a 5G scenario, where large quantitiesof network traffic should be processed simultaneously. These considerable quantities oftraffic received by the 5G networks will incur several security problems, such as massiveDistributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, which will have to be mitigated to protect thenetwork components, and therefore avoiding network disruption. The UHD video streaminguse case prototyped includes the generic eMBB service proposed by 5G communications,requiring high data rates across a wide coverage area, complemented by moderate latency.And finally, the network slicing solution has been tested with a URLLC use case, where anovel hardware-based queuing algorithm has been implemented to guarantee End-to-End(E2E) latency in critical 5G communications. These solutions have been empirically validatedin the edge-to-core network segment of a 5G multi-tenant architecture fulfilling the strict5G Key Performance Indicators (KPI)s. Furthermore, the impact of this research has beenapplied in a real testbed in the context of the H2020 5G-PPP Phase II SliceNet project.