Two-Level Wireless Spectrum Resource Allocation for 5G Network Slicing

Network Slicing is one of the most important concepts in 5G networks. It enables 5G networks to provide multiple virtual networks on a physical network to meet the diverse needs of applications in different vertical fields. Although there has been relatively mature progress in the core network slicing, the development of the Radio Access Network (RAN) slicing is still in its early stage. This paper focuses on “wireless spectrum resource allocation” which is the most important issue in RAN slicing. The paper proposes to divide the allocation of wireless spectrum resources into two stages: intra-slice allocation and inter-slice allocation, performed respectively by Slice Resource Manager (SRM) and Resource Mapper (RM). In this paper, we analyze the computational complexity of the SRM and RM algorithms and then test them through a simulator written in C++ and Python. We use eMBB slices and URLLC slices as test examples and through simulation, not only randomly deploy 10~ 20 UEs on each slice but also randomly assign different RBs and delay requirements to each UE. By extensive tests, we validate that the developed algorithm is capable of finishing spectrum resources allocation within stringent time limits and meeting the requirements of all slices.