Abstract

Network slicing is the practice of implementing multiple virtualized and independent architectures on a single physical network infrastructure, in a way that allows for multiplexing and efficient use of resources. Network slicing is based on the concept of network virtualization and, when it reaches maturity, is expected to result in complete softwarization of 5G, Beyond-5G (B5G) and 6G networks. This means that future networks will only need minimal physical infrastructure upgrades (mostly in the frontend of the network). Network slicing is identified as one of the key enablers of next generation wireless mobile networks due to its ability to multiplex virtualized and independent architectures on the same physical network infrastructure. The virtual architectures instantiated through network slicing can be tailored to the technical requirements of specific verticals or applications. However, there is still the challenge of providing traffic-specific mechanism to generate and provision the virtual networks (i.e. network slices) that are tailor-made for specific applications. This challenge is currently an active research topic in the field of wireless communication networks. In this research work, three end-to-end network slicing provisioning frameworks are proposed and investigated. We started with an existing complex-network-based framework and devised an improvement scheme that utilized the more fitting Dijkstra’s and A* algorithms to linearize the provisioning time needed to process the number of network slice requests (NSR). Next, a new hypergraph-based framework utilizing the generalization feature of hypergraphs is proposed to optimize the resource scheduling and bandwidth allocation procedures. The hypergraph-game-based framework employs two altruistic games, which are used for the resources and bandwidth selection operations. Lastly, spiking neural networks (SNN) are utilized to implement a novel hypergraph-SNN-based framework that reduces provisioning time by an order of magnitude, while optimizing resource scheduling and performance of the network. The performance of the frameworks was assessed in terms of resource utilization and acceptance ratios while maintaining near optimum provisioning time requirement. The simulation results of the proposed complex-network framework showed linearization and significant reduction in the processing time of the network slicing provisioning as a function of the number of nodes in both the physical infrastructure and the virtual network slices. The hypergraph-game-based frameworks produced better-quality results when compared to other methods presented in the literature. Lastly, the hypergraph-SNN-based framework produced superior results that addressed the main challenges of minimizing the execution time while maintaining high resource efficiency and acceptance ratio in the provisioning process of NSRs.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Software-defined networking (Computer network technology); Multiplexing; 6G mobile communication systems; Hypergraphs; Neural networks (Computer science)

Publication Date

5-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Electrical and Computer Engineering (Ph.D)

Department, Program, or Center

Department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering (KGCOE)

Advisor

Muhieddin Amer

Advisor/Committee Member

Andres Kwasinski

Advisor/Committee Member

Tae Oh

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

ECE-PHD

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