A Survey on Intent-Driven Networks

Software defined network and network function visualization enhance the network flexibility and management agility, which increase network fragility and complexity. However, the vast majority of network parameters are manually configured, which makes the configuration failures still inevitable. Future networks should be self-configuring, self-managing, and self-optimizing. Intent-driven network (IDN) is a self-driving network that uses decoupling network control logic and closed-loop orchestration techniques to automate application intents. At present, a unified definition of IDN has not yet been presented, and the research background and current status of IDN are not clear. Considering the emerging applications and research of IDN, in this article, we survey existing technologies, clarify definitions, and summarize features for IDN. Specifically, we discuss the basic architecture and key technologies of IDN. In addition, diversity gains and challenges are analyzed briefly. Finally, some future work is highlighted and wider applications of IDN are provided for further research.