Cloud and Network operating System for 6G: Definition, Architecture and Challenges

Facing network and computing requirements for emerging technologies and applications such as 6G ubiquitous coverage, ubiquitous artificial intelligence (AI), industrial internet of things (IIoT), digital twins (DT), cloud native, etc., the existing cloud infrastructure management and operation system in the fifth-generation (5G)era can no longer meet the new requirements, and new management and operation systems are gradually emerging. This paper aims to propose a new cloud-network operating system (CNOS) architecture to support the complex 6G requirements in a flexible and efficient way. Fist, we introduce the differentiated requirements of users for cloud and network resources in the 6G era, then the necessity of building a unified, safe and efficient management and control system based on network and cloud computing in the 6G era is introduced. On this ground, we propose a safe and efficient CNOS architecture, and the key technologies of the new architecture are introduced in detail, the authors also verified the computing-network integrated scheduling capability of CNOS in the actual network environment provided by the telecom operator, then we analyze the opportunities and challenges faced by CNOS. Finally, we look forward to the future research direction.