Network Resource Management and QoS in SDN-Enabled 5G Systems

Virtual Network Embedding (VNE) is considered a key technology to instantiate and operate Data and Control planes in next generation (5G) SDN-based Networks. Within this domain, Network Resource Management (NRM) is an essential feature to allow efficient resource utilisation, to enable network slicing and to guarantee fairness among the supported QoS classes. This paper presents and evaluates three alternative NRM policies: Full Sharing, Full Split and Russian Dolls. Policies define how different QoS classes share the available bandwidth on per link basis. The policies have been integrated in a MIP-based Virtual Link Mapping formulation (VLM+) supporting multi-constrained end to end QoS. Simulation results show different policies can suit different network operator's requirements. Also, results highlight Russian Dolls significantly outperforms other policies in terms of Embedding Rate and Link Utilisation, still preserving fairness among QoS Classes. VLM+ Convergence Time has also been evaluated, showing all policies are compatible with timing requirements for a real 5G system implementation.