학술논문

Data-Driven Estimation of Throughput Performance in Sliced Radio Access Networks via Supervised Learning
Document Type
Periodical
Source
IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management IEEE Trans. Netw. Serv. Manage. Network and Service Management, IEEE Transactions on. 20(2):1008-1023 Jun, 2023
Subject
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Computing and Processing
Throughput
Radio access networks
5G mobile communication
Long Term Evolution
Computer architecture
Service level agreements
Microprocessors
Network slicing
radio access network
supervised learning
throughput
enhanced mobility broadband
Language
ISSN
1932-4537
2373-7379
Abstract
In 5G systems, Network Slicing (NS) feature allows to deploy several logical networks customized for specific verticals over a common physical infrastructure. To make the most of this feature, cellular operators need models reflecting cell and slice performance for re-dimensioning the Radio Access Network (RAN). For enhanced Mobility BroadBand (eMBB) services, throughput is regarded as a key performance metric since it strongly influences user experience. This work presents the first comprehensive analysis tackling cell and slice throughput estimation in the downlink of RAN-sliced networks through Supervised Learning (SL), based on information collected in the operations support system. Different well-known SL algorithms are tested in two NS scenarios with single-service or multi-service slices serving eMBB users. To this end, several synthetic datasets are generated with a system-level simulator emulating the activity of a sliced RAN. Results show that NS alters the correlation between network performance indicators and cell throughput compared to legacy RANs, thus being required a separate analysis for NS scenarios. Moreover, the best model to estimate throughput at cell/slice level may depend on the scenario (single-service vs multi-service slices). In all cases, the best models have shown an estimation error below 10 %.