Packet-Based Fronthauling in 5G Networks: Network Slicing-Aware Packetization

Network slicing is one of the most important enablers of an evolved network architecture for 5G networks that can support the challenging quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of future communication services. Network slicing is realized by technologies, such as software-defined networks, network function virtualization, and cloud radio access network (C-RAN) with packet-based fronthaul (P-FH) interfaces. However, it is still challenging to effectively support the diverse QoS requirements of network slices with limited FH link resources. To this end, FH payloads should be packetized in an appropriate way to apply transport differentiation provided in the P-FH interfaces since they are transported in a form of packets. In this article, we first comprehensively investigate the characteristics of the components of the FH payloads. Based on the investigation, we then design a packetization method that enables the P-FH interfaces to address the diverse QoS requirements by effectively applying their transport differentiation to the generated packets. Finally, we discuss open issues on realizing the P-FH interface in practice.