Network Slice Lifecycle Management Model for NFV-based 5G Virtual Mobile Network Operators

The use of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software-defined Networks (SDN) technologies in 5G networks provide Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) with new capacities to deploy and orchestrate network functions in a virtualized and programmable way, allowing them in turn to better provide and support new connectivity requirements demanded by users and vertical industries. The Network Slicing function provides the base functionality to virtualize the network and efficiently share it among customers. Besides, the extensive use of virtualization technologies in 5G provides a good support for the creation of virtual Mobile Network Operators (vMNO), that offer network services to its clients using the network resources provided by an MNO. However, the 3GPP architecture defined for the management of network slices fails to provide a good support for the vMNOs to have their own network slice management system. The main goal of the thesis work outlined in this paper is to address the integration of current technologies used by 5G networks into multi-domain and multi-client cloud computing scenarios, for the provision of vMNOs following a Network Slice as a Service (NSaaS) approach. The ongoing work focuses on defining mechanisms for the deployment, orchestration and management of diverse vMNOs available in the network slice ecosystem, proposing an extension to the network slice management capabilities proposed by 3GPP.