Energy-Efficient Intra-Domain Network Slicing for Multi-Layer Orchestration in Intelligent-Driven Distributed 6G Networks: Learning Generic Assignment Skills with Unsupervised Reinforcement Learning

TL;DR

This paper introduces an energy-efficient, decentralized network slicing method for 6G networks that uses unsupervised reinforcement learning to discover scalable, domain-agnostic assignment skills, reducing complexity and enhancing efficiency.

Contribution

It proposes a novel pre-training approach using unsupervised RL to learn generic resource assignment skills applicable across all edge domains in 6G networks.

Findings

Discovered assignment skills cover the full range of resource allocations.

Pre-training improves scalability and decentralization of network management.

Skills are domain-agnostic and adaptable to various service types.

Abstract

Since the 6th Generation (6G) of wireless networks is expected to provide a new level of network services and meet the emerging expectations of the future, it will be a complex and intricate networking system. 6Gs sophistication and robustness will be accompanied by complexities, which will require novel strategies to tackle them. This research work focuses on decentralized and multi-level system models for 6G networks and proposes an energy efficient automation strategy for edge domain management and Network Slicing (NS) with the main objective of reducing the networks complexity by leveraging scalability, efficiency, and generalization. Accordingly, we propose a pre-train phase to discover useful assignment skills in network edge domains by utilizing unsupervised Reinforcement Learning (unsupervised RL). The suggested technique does not depend on the domain specifications and thus is applicable to all the edge domains. Our proposed approach not only enables scalability and decentralization, but it also delivers efficiency by assisting domain controllers to provide various service types. We implemented the pre-training phase, and monitored that the discovered assignment skills span the entire interval of possible resource assignment portions for every service type.