Abstract—Network slicing is a key capability for next gen- eration mobile networks. It enables infrastructure providers 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 services while optimizing network effi- ciency. 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 con- strained 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 mar- ket, 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 ensure that the pre-agreed guarantees are met for each slice. 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.
more »
« less
Elastic Multi-resource Network Slicing: Can Protection Lead to Improved Performance?
In order to meet the performance/privacy require- ments of future data-intensive mobile applications, e.g., self- driving cars, mobile data analytics, and AR/VR, service providers are expected to draw on shared storage/computation/connectivity resources at the network “edge”. To be cost-effective, a key functional requirement for such infrastructure is enabling the shar- ing of heterogeneous resources amongst tenants/service providers supporting spatially varying and dynamic user demands. This paper proposes a resource allocation criterion, namely, Share Constrained Slicing (SCS), for slices allocated predefined shares of the network’s resources, which extends traditional α−fairness criterion, by striking a balance among inter- and intra-slice fairness vs. overall efficiency. We show that SCS has several desirable properties including slice-level protection, envyfreeness, and load- driven elasticity. In practice, mobile users’ dynamics could make the cost of implementing SCS high, so we discuss the feasibility of using a simpler (dynamically) weighted max-min as a surrogate resource allocation scheme. For a setting with stochastic loads and elastic user requirements, we establish a sufficient condition for the stability of the associated coupled network system. Finally, and perhaps surprisingly, we show via extensive simulations that while SCS (and/or the surrogate weighted max-min allocation) provides inter-slice protection, they can achieve improved job delay and/or perceived throughput, as compared to other weighted max- min based allocation schemes whose intra-slice weight allocation is not share-constrained, e.g., traditional max-min or discriminatory processor sharing.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1731658
- PAR ID:
- 10097243
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International Symposium on Modeling and Optimization in Mobile, Ad Hoc, and Wireless Networks WiOpt 2019
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Apache Mesos, a two-level resource scheduler, provides resource sharing across multiple users in a multi-tenant clustered environment. Computational resources (i.e., CPU, memory, disk, etc.) are distributed according to the Dominant Resource Fairness (DRF) policy. Mesos frameworks (users) receive resources based on their current usage and are responsible for scheduling their tasks within the allocation. We have observed that multiple frameworks can cause fairness imbalance in a multi-user environment. For example, a greedy framework consuming more than its fair share of resources can deny resource fairness to others. The user with the least Dominant Share is considered first by the DRF module to get its resource allocation. However, the default DRF implementation, in Apache Mesos' Master allocation module, does not consider the overall resource demands of the tasks in the queue for each user/framework. This lack of awareness can lead to poor performance as users without any pending task may receive more resource offers, and users with a queue of pending tasks can starve due to their high dominant shares. In a multi-tenant environment, the characteristics of frameworks and workloads must be understood by cluster managers to be able to define fairness based on not only resource share but also resource demand and queue wait time. We have developed a policy driven queue manager, Tromino, for an Apache Mesos cluster where tasks for individual frameworks can be scheduled based on each framework's overall resource demands and current resource consumption. Dominant Share and demand awareness of Tromino and scheduling based on these attributes can reduce (1) the impact of unfairness due to a framework specific configuration, and (2) unfair waiting time due to higher resource demand in a pending task queue. In the best case, Tromino can significantly reduce the average waiting time of a framework by using the proposed Demand-DRF aware policy.more » « less
-
The emergence of diverse network applications demands more flexible and responsive resource allocation for networks. Network slicing is a key enabling technology that provides each network service with a tailored set of network resources to satisfy specific service requirements. The focus of this paper is the network slicing of access networks realized by Passive Optical Networks (PONs). This paper proposes a learning-based Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (DBA) algorithm for PON access networks, considering slice-awareness, demand-responsiveness, and allocation fairness. Our online convex optimization-based algorithm learns the implicit traffic trend over time and determines the most robust window allocation that reduces the average latency. Our simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithm reduces the average latency by prioritizing delay-sensitive and heavily-loaded ONUs while guaranteeing a minimal window allocation to all ONUs.more » « less
-
Traditional systems for allocating finite cluster resources among competing jobs have either aimed at providing fairness, relied on users to specify their resource requirements, or have estimated these requirements via surrogate metrics (e.g. CPU utilization). These approaches do not account for a job’s real world performance (e.g. P95 latency). Existing performance-aware systems use offline profiled data and/or are designed for specific allocation objectives. In this work, we argue that resource allocation systems should directly account for real-world performance and the varied allocation objectives of users. In this pursuit, we build Cilantro. At the core of Cilantro is an online learning mechanism which forms feedback loops with the jobs to estimate the resource to performance mappings and load shifts. This relieves users from the onerous task of job profiling and collects reliable real-time feedback. This is then used to achieve a variety of user-specified scheduling objectives. Cilantro handles the uncertainty in the learned models by adapting the underlying policy to work with confidence bounds. We demonstrate this in two settings. First, in a multi-tenant 1000 CPU cluster with 20 independent jobs, three of Cilantro’s policies outperform 9 other baselines on three different performance-aware scheduling objectives, improving user utilities by up to 1.2 − 3.7x. Second, in a microservices setting, where 160 CPUs must be distributed between 19 inter-dependent microservices, Cilantro outperforms 3 other baselines, reducing the end-to-end P99 latency to x0.57 the next best baseline.more » « less
-
5G and beyond communication networks require satisfying very low latency standards, high reliability, high- speed user connectivity, more security, improved capacity and better service demands. Augmenting such a wide range of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) needs a smart, intelligent and programmable solution for TSPs (Telecommunication Service Providers). Resource availability and quality sustainability are challenging parameters in a heterogeneous 5G environment. Programmable Dynamic Network Slicing (PDNS) is a key technology enabling parameter that can allow multiple tenants to bring their versatile applications simultaneously over shared physical infrastructure. Latest emerging technologies like virtualized Software- Defined Networks (vSDN) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) play a pivotal supporting role in solving the above-mentioned constraints. Using the PDNS framework, we have proposed a novel slice backup algorithm leveraging Deep Learning (DL) neural network to orchestrate network latency and load efficiently. Our model has been trained using the available KPIs and incoming traffic is analyzed. The proposed solution performs stable load balancing between shared slices even if certain extreme conditions (slice unavailability) through intelligent resource allocation. The framework withstands service outage and always select the most suitable slice as a backup. Our results show latency-aware resource distribution for better network stability.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

