5G network slicing using SDN and NFV- A survey of taxonomy, architectures and future challenges

TL;DR

This survey comprehensively reviews 5G network slicing enabled by SDN and NFV, covering architectures, standardization, industrial initiatives, and future challenges in network softwarization.

Contribution

It provides an extensive overview of 5G slicing paradigms, enablers, industrial projects, and standardization efforts, highlighting future research directions.

Findings

Comparison of 5G architectural approaches

Survey of industrial initiatives and open source tools

Discussion on standardization and future challenges

Abstract

In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review and updated solutions related to 5G network slicing using SDN and NFV. Firstly, we present 5G service quality and business requirements followed by a description of 5G network softwarization and slicing paradigms including essential concepts, history and different use cases. Secondly, we provide a tutorial of 5G network slicing technology enablers including SDN, NFV, MEC, cloud/Fog computing, network hypervisors, virtual machines & containers. Thidly, we comprehensively survey different industrial initiatives and projects that are pushing forward the adoption of SDN and NFV in accelerating 5G network slicing. A comparison of various 5G architectural approaches in terms of practical implementations, technology adoptions and deployment strategies is presented. Moreover, we provide a discussion on various open source orchestrators and proof of concepts representing industrial contribution. The work also investigates the standardization efforts in 5G networks regarding network slicing and softwarization. Additionally, the article presents the management and orchestration of network slices in a single domain followed by a comprehensive survey of management and orchestration approaches in 5G network slicing across multiple domains while supporting multiple tenants. Furthermore, we highlight the future challenges and research directions regarding network softwarization and slicing using SDN and NFV in 5G networks.