5G network slicing allows partitioning of network resources to meet stringent end-to-end service requirements across multiple network segments, from access to transport. These requirements are shaping technical evolution in each of these segments. In particular, the transport segment is currently evolving in the direction of elastic optical networks (EONs), a new generation of optical networks supporting a flexible optical-spectrum grid and novel elastic transponder capabilities. In this paper, we focus on the reliability of 5G transport-network slices in EON. Specifically, we consider the problem of slicing 5G transport networks, i.e., establishing virtual networks on 5G transport, while providing dedicated protection. As dedicated protection requires a large amount of backup resources, our proposed solution incorporates two techniques to reduce backup resources: (i) bandwidth squeezing, i.e., providing a reduced protection bandwidth than the original request; and (ii) survivable multi-path provisioning. We leverage the capability of EONs to fine tune spectrum allocation and adapt modulation format and forward error correction for allocating spectrum resources. Our numerical evaluation over realistic network topologies quantifies the spectrum savings achieved by employing EON over traditional fixed-grid optical networks, and provides new insights on the impact of bandwidth squeezing and multi-path provisioning on spectrum utilization. One key takeaway from our evaluation is that multi-path provisioning can guarantee up to 40% of the bandwidth requested by a VN during failures by provisioning only 10% additional spectrum resources. This also caused VN blocking ratio for BSR up to 40% to remain very close to that of the no-backup case.

中文翻译：

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通过带宽压缩和多路径提供对 5G 传输网络进行可靠切片

5G 网络切片允许划分网络资源，以满足跨多个网段（从接入到传输）的严格端到端服务要求。这些要求正在塑造这些细分市场中的每一个领域的技术发展。特别是，传输部分目前正在朝着弹性光网络 (EON) 的方向发展，这是一种支持灵活光谱网格和新型弹性转发器功能的新一代光网络。在本文中，我们关注 EON 中 5G 传输网络切片的可靠性。具体来说，我们考虑了5G传输网络的切片问题，即在5G传输上建立虚拟网络，同时提供专用保护。由于专用保护需要大量备份资源，我们提出的解决方案结合了两种技术来减少备份资源：(i) 带宽压缩，即提供比原始请求减少的保护带宽；(ii) 可存活的多路径供应。我们利用 EON 的能力来微调频谱分配并调整调制格式和前向纠错以分配频谱资源。我们对现实网络拓扑的数值评估量化了通过在传统固定网格光网络上使用 EON 所实现的频谱节省，并提供了关于带宽压缩和多路径配置对频谱利用的影响的新见解。我们评估的一个关键结论是，多路径配置可以通过仅配置 10% 的额外频谱资源来保证故障期间 VN 请求的带宽高达 40%。这也导致 BSR 的 VN 阻塞率高达 40%，仍然非常接近无备份情况。