The Vertical Slicer: Verticals’ Entry Point to 5G Networks

Abstract

Network slicing is the emerging framework for the support of services offered by vertical industries in 5G networks. In order to ensure that the service characteristics required by a vertical are met, it is of paramount importance to adequately interpret the vertical’s requirements and map them onto specifications that the system orchestrator can use to deploy the service. In this paper, we take this challenge and present a new entity, called Vertical Slicer, to be incorporated within the OSS/BSS of 5G networks. We describe the architecture of the Vertical Slicer, as well as its main functional blocks and the algorithms therein.