Network Slicing in 5G: Survey and Challenges

5G is envisioned to be a multi-service network supporting a wide range of verticals with a diverse set of performance and service requirements. Slicing a single physical network into multiple isolated logical networks has emerged as a key to realizing this vision. This article is meant to act as a survey, the first to the authors' knowledge, on this topic of prime interest. We begin by reviewing the state of the art in 5G network slicing and present a framework for bringing together and discussing existing work in a holistic manner. Using this framework, we evaluate the maturity of current proposals and identify a number of open research questions.

Introduction

Mobile devices have become an essential part of our daily lives and, as such, the mobile network infrastructure that connects them has become critical. It is set to take on an even bigger role with the fifth generation (5G) mobile systems envisioned to support a wide array of services and devices. In this article, we consider the architectural aspect of mobile networks looking toward 5G. Examining the evolution of mobile networks until now suggests that the changes across generations have been driven largely by the need to support faster data oriented services. For instance, spectral efficiency in the radio access network (RAN) has increased by a factor of 30 from 2G to 4G. On the core network (CN) front, the packet switched component (IP) introduced initially in the 2.5G (general packet radio service, GPRS) system eventually supplanted the legacy circuit switched component in 4G systems.