SWEETEN: Automated Network Management Provisioning for 5G Microservices-Based Virtual Network Functions

Forthcoming 5G systems promise a myriad of new and improved applications, relying on Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) to realize some of 5G's stringent requirements. To guarantee that these requirements are met, network monitoring and management must be deployed and fine-tuned according each application's specificity. As Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) adhere to the microservice paradigm, picking and configuring the right tools is not a trivial task for users. In this paper, we present SWEETEN, a system that assists user to operate a 5G network with the appropriate management tools for the job, in a transparent manner to the user. By enriching their function stack with high-level annotation of the management features they desire, users can easily deploy an augmented stack with both network and management functions. A prototype is presented and evaluated in a dynamic Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) split case study. The evaluation confirms that SWEETEN can assist users in effortlessly deploying complex management solutions, while incurring in acceptable deployment time overhead and negligible computational overhead for throughout the functions life-cycle.