Constrained Network Slicing Games: Achieving service guarantees and network efficiency

Network slicing is a key capability for next generation mobile networks. It enables one to cost effectively customize logical networks over a shared infrastructure. A critical component of network slicing is resource allocation, which needs to ensure that slices receive the resources needed to support their mobiles/services while optimizing network efficiency. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to slice-based resource allocation named Guaranteed seRvice Efficient nETwork slicing (GREET). The underlying concept is to set up a constrained resource allocation game, where (i) slices unilaterally optimize their allocations to best meet their (dynamic) customer loads, while (ii) constraints are imposed to guarantee that, if they wish so, slices receive a pre-agreed share of the network resources. The resulting game is a variation of the well-known Fisher market, where slices are provided a budget to contend for network resources (as in a traditional Fisher market), but (unlike a Fisher market) prices are constrained for some resources to provide the desired guarantees. In this way, GREET combines the advantages of a share-based approach (high efficiency by flexible sharing) and reservation-based ones (which provide guarantees by assigning a fixed amount of resources). We characterize the Nash equilibrium, best response dynamics, and propose a practical slice strategy with provable convergence properties. Extensive simulations exhibit substantial improvements over network slicing state-of-the-art benchmarks

Controlling the handover mechanism in wireless mobile nodes using game theory

This paper proposes a novel network selection mechanism as an extension to the FMIPv6 [2] protocol, which improves handover latency in the MIPv6 [1] in the case where the Mobile Nodes (MN) have a single wireless interface with multiple Care-of-Addresses (CoA’s). Moreover, this paper proposes a novel interface/network selection mechanism, which is an extension to the MFMIPv6 [5], which work when the mobile node has more than one wireless interface. Generally, the previous access router (PAR) in the FMIPv6 protocol forwards all the arrived packets to the new access router (NAR) by setting up a tunnel to it in order to prevent packet losses incurred by latency during handover procedure. However, there is no protocol which offers the user and/or the application to dynamically choose the right NAR (i.e. the one offers a better service). What’s more, one of the main objectives of the next generation networks will be heterogeneity in the wireless access environment in which a mobile terminal will be able to connect to multiple radio networks simultaneously. For these reasons, network selection and efficient load balancing mechanisms among different networks will be required to achieve high-speed connectivity with seamless mobility. To this end; Game Theory [3], naturally becomes a useful and powerful tool to research this kind of problems. Game theory is a mathematical tool developed to understand competitive situations in which rational decision makers interact to achieve their objectives. The mechanism improves the handover latency, the user ability to choose the right interface/network and controls when to force the MN to make the handover

Spectrum Trading: An Abstracted Bibliography

This document contains a bibliographic list of major papers on spectrum trading and their abstracts. The aim of the list is to offer researchers entering this field a fast panorama of the current literature. The list is continually updated on the webpage \url{http://www.disp.uniroma2.it/users/naldi/Ricspt.html}. Omissions and papers suggested for inclusion may be pointed out to the authors through e-mail (\textit{[email protected]})