The automation of network slice lifecycle management and orchestration is critical to deliver 5G slicing at scale

FREE PERSPECTIVE

5G is being developed as a network platform that combines new radio, edge clouds, programmable transport and the cloud-native core to deliver differentiated, on-demand IoT and ultra-low-latency use cases to enterprises. End-to-end network slicing makes this possible by providing logically separate network partitions with end-to-end management and control over the network performance. Latency characteristics can be tailored to a particular use case or enterprise.

However, to achieve this level of granular control over the network sources and to deliver network slicing at scale, communications service providers (CSPs) must have highly automated network slice lifecycle management capabilities. The slice design, order and orchestration functions must be seamlessly integrated with the slice instantiation, monitoring and closed-loop automation functions to enable full, end-to-end automation in order to deliver a self-service digital experience to customers and enterprises. Furthermore, the end-to-end cross-domain slice orchestration must be based on multi-layer, model-driven, platform-oriented architecture that provides multi-vendor support to enable CSPs to deploy a best-of-breed network slice management solution.