LTE-Based Network Virtualization Schemes Adaptation for M2M Deployments

Abstract

Due to the dramatic increase in the data traffic of different source types such as those of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, many mobile operators are increasingly resorting to Network Virtualization (NV). It allows them to allocate their radio resources to different service types efficiently without affecting the Quality of Service (QoS) offered to their regular users. This study aims to adapt some of the leading NV schemes to the M2M traffic needs. This includes the Network Virtualization Substrate (NVS) which offers two forms of resource allocation among the sharing operators: resource-based and bandwidth-based. Another technique that we adapt is the Partial Resource Reservation (PRR) scheme where a portion of resources is reserved to each slice, to ensure a minimum service level while the rest is shared among all users. As Machine-Type Communication Devices (MTCDs) are currently used in delay-sensitive applications such as emergency operations, we aim to adjust these 3 virtualization schemes to the delay budget of each application. The schemes are simulated and compared to the performance of the static reservation (SR) of radio resources.