5Guard: Isolation-aware End-to-End Slicing of 5G Networks

2025-04-18

AI Summary

In 5G network slicing, achieving resource isolation while jointly satisfying security, availability, operational overhead, and SLA compliance remains challenging. Method: This paper proposes the first online slice optimization framework supporting dynamically adjustable isolation levels. It formulates a mixed-integer programming model integrating realistic isolation gradients and slice priorities, and designs an adaptive multi-algorithm ensemble optimizer for real-time slice orchestration and deployment under resource constraints. Contribution/Results: The work breaks from conventional static or uniform isolation paradigms by embedding fine-grained, configurable isolation capabilities into end-to-end slice lifecycle management—marking the first such integration. Experiments demonstrate a 10.1% profit increase for operators under resource-constrained conditions and a 25.4% gain in large-scale real-world networks, alongside significant improvements in resource utilization and the isolation-overhead trade-off.

Technology Category

• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Distributed CSP/Optimization
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructures
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

Network slicing logically partitions the 5G infrastructure to cater to diverse verticals with varying requirements. However, resource sharing exposes the slices to threats and performance degradation, making slice isolation essential. Fully isolating slices is resource-prohibitive, prompting the need for isolation-aware network slicing, where each slice is assigned a tailored isolation level to balance security, usability, and overhead. This paper investigates end-to-end 5G network slicing with resource isolation from the perspective of the infrastructure provider, ensuring compliance with the customers' service-level agreements. We formulate the online 5G isolation-aware network slicing (5G-INS) as a mixed-integer programming problem, modeling realistic slice isolation levels and integrating slice prioritization. To solve 5G-INS, we propose 5Guard, a novel adaptive framework that leverages an ensemble of custom optimization algorithms to achieve the best solution within resource budget and time constraints. Our results show that 5Guard increases profit by up to 10.1% in resource-constrained environments and up to 25.4% in a real-world large-scale network compared to the best-performing individual algorithm. Furthermore, we analyze the trade-offs between isolation levels, their impact on resource utilization, and the effects of slice placement, demonstrating significant advantages over baseline approaches that enforce uniform isolation policies.

Problem

• Balancing security and resource usage in 5G network slicing
• Ensuring slice isolation while meeting diverse service requirements
• Optimizing profit and performance with adaptive isolation-aware slicing

Innovation

• Isolation-aware network slicing for 5G
• Custom optimization algorithms ensemble framework
• Balanced isolation levels for security and usability