With the gradual development of the 5G industry network and applications,each industry application has various network performance requirements,while customers hope to upgrade their industrial structures by leveraging...With the gradual development of the 5G industry network and applications,each industry application has various network performance requirements,while customers hope to upgrade their industrial structures by leveraging 5G technologies.The guarantee of service level agreement(SLA)requirements is becoming more and more important,especially SLA performance indicators,such as delay,jitter,bandwidth,etc.For network operators to fulfill customer’s requirements,emerging network technologies such as time-sensitive networking(TSN),edge computing(EC)and network slicing are introduced into the mobile network to improve network performance,which increase the complexity of the network operation and maintenance(O&M),as well as the network cost.As a result,operators urgently need new solutions to achieve low-cost and high-efficiency network SLA management.In this paper,a digital twin network(DTN)solution is innovatively proposed to achieve the mapping and full lifecycle management of the end-to-end physical network.All the network operation policies such as configuration and modification can be generated and verified inside the digital twin network first to make sure that the SLA requirements can be fulfilled without affecting the related network environment and the performance of the other network services,making network operation and maintenance more effective and accurate.展开更多
The proliferation of heterogeneous networks,such as the Internet of Things(IoT),unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)networks,and edge networks,has increased the complexity of network operation and administration,driving the e...The proliferation of heterogeneous networks,such as the Internet of Things(IoT),unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)networks,and edge networks,has increased the complexity of network operation and administration,driving the emergence of digital twin networks(DTNs)that create digital-physical network mappings.While DTNs enable performance analysis through emulation testbeds,current research focuses on network-level systems,neglecting equipment-level emulation of critical components like core switches and routers.To address this issue,we propose v Fabric(short for virtual switch),a digital twin emulator for high-capacity core switching equipment.This solution implements virtual switching and network processor(NP)chip models through specialized processes,deployable on single or distributed servers via socket communication.The v Fabric emulator can realize the accurate emulation for the core switching equipment with 720 ports and 100 Gbit/s per port on the largest scale.To our knowledge,this represents the first digital twin emulation framework specifically designed for large-capacity core switching equipment in communication networks.展开更多
In recent years,immense developments have occurred in the field of Artificial Intelligence(AI)and the spread of broadband and ubiquitous connectivity technologies.This has led to the development and commercialization ...In recent years,immense developments have occurred in the field of Artificial Intelligence(AI)and the spread of broadband and ubiquitous connectivity technologies.This has led to the development and commercialization of Digital Twin(DT)technology.The widespread adoption of DT has resulted in a new network paradigm called Digital Twin Networks(DTNs),which orchestrate through the networks of ubiquitous DTs and their corresponding physical assets.DTNs create virtual twins of physical objects via DT technology and realize the co-evolution between physical and virtual spaces through data processing,computing,and DT modeling.The high volume of user data and the ubiquitous communication systems in DTNs come with their own set of challenges.The most serious issue here is with respect to user data privacy and security because users of most applications are unaware of the data that they are sharing with these platforms and are naive in understanding the implications of the data breaches.Also,currently,there is not enough literature that focuses on privacy and security issues in DTN applications.In this survey,we first provide a clear idea of the components of DTNs and the common metrics used in literature to assess their performance.Next,we offer a standard network model that applies to most DTN applications to provide a better understanding of DTN’s complex and interleaved communications and the respective components.We then shed light on the common applications where DTNs have been adapted heavily and the privacy and security issues arising from the DTNs.We also provide different privacy and security countermeasures to address the previously mentioned issues in DTNs and list some state-of-the-art tools to mitigate the issues.Finally,we provide some open research issues and problems in the field of DTN privacy and security.展开更多
A communication network can natively provide artificial intelligence(AI)training services for resourcelimited network entities to quickly build accurate digital twins and achieve high-level network autonomy.Considerin...A communication network can natively provide artificial intelligence(AI)training services for resourcelimited network entities to quickly build accurate digital twins and achieve high-level network autonomy.Considering that network entities that require digital twins and those that provide AI services may belong to different operators,incentive mechanisms are needed to maximize the utility of both.In this paper,we establish a Stackelberg game to model AI training task offloading for digital twins in native AI networks with the operator with base stations as the leader and resource-limited network entities as the followers.We analyze the Stackelberg equilibrium to obtain equilibrium solutions.Considering the time-varying wireless network environment,we further design a deep reinforcement learning algorithm to achieve dynamic pricing and task offloading.Finally,extensive simulations are conducted to verify the effectiveness of our proposal.展开更多
The sixth-generation(6G)mobile network implements the social vision of digital twins and ubiquitous intelligence.Contrary to the fifth-generation(5G)mobile network that focuses only on communications,6G mobile network...The sixth-generation(6G)mobile network implements the social vision of digital twins and ubiquitous intelligence.Contrary to the fifth-generation(5G)mobile network that focuses only on communications,6G mobile networks must natively support new capabilities such as sensing,computing,artificial intelligence(AI),big data,and security while facilitating Everything as a Service.Although 5G mobile network deployment has demonstrated that network automation and intelligence can simplify network operation and maintenance(O&M),the addition of external functionalities has resulted in low service efficiency and high operational costs.In this study,a technology framework for a 6G autonomous radio access network(RAN)is proposed to achieve a high-level network autonomy that embraces the design of native cloud,native AI,and network digital twin(NDT).First,a service-based architecture is proposed to re-architect the protocol stack of RAN,which flexibly orchestrates the services and functions on demand as well as customizes them into cloud-native services.Second,a native AI framework is structured to provide AI support for the diverse use cases of network O&M by orchestrating communications,AI models,data,and computing power demanded by AI use cases.Third,a digital twin network is developed as a virtual environment for the training,pre-validation,and tuning of AI algorithms and neural networks,avoiding possible unexpected losses of the network O&M caused by AI applications.The combination of native AI and NDT can facilitate network autonomy by building closed-loop management and optimization for RAN.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2020YFB1806801,2020YFB1806800)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61773382).
文摘With the gradual development of the 5G industry network and applications,each industry application has various network performance requirements,while customers hope to upgrade their industrial structures by leveraging 5G technologies.The guarantee of service level agreement(SLA)requirements is becoming more and more important,especially SLA performance indicators,such as delay,jitter,bandwidth,etc.For network operators to fulfill customer’s requirements,emerging network technologies such as time-sensitive networking(TSN),edge computing(EC)and network slicing are introduced into the mobile network to improve network performance,which increase the complexity of the network operation and maintenance(O&M),as well as the network cost.As a result,operators urgently need new solutions to achieve low-cost and high-efficiency network SLA management.In this paper,a digital twin network(DTN)solution is innovatively proposed to achieve the mapping and full lifecycle management of the end-to-end physical network.All the network operation policies such as configuration and modification can be generated and verified inside the digital twin network first to make sure that the SLA requirements can be fulfilled without affecting the related network environment and the performance of the other network services,making network operation and maintenance more effective and accurate.
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)under Grant Nos.62171085,62272428,62001087,U20A20156,and 61871097the ZTE Industry-University-Institute Cooperation Funds under Grant No.HC-CN-20220722010。
文摘The proliferation of heterogeneous networks,such as the Internet of Things(IoT),unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)networks,and edge networks,has increased the complexity of network operation and administration,driving the emergence of digital twin networks(DTNs)that create digital-physical network mappings.While DTNs enable performance analysis through emulation testbeds,current research focuses on network-level systems,neglecting equipment-level emulation of critical components like core switches and routers.To address this issue,we propose v Fabric(short for virtual switch),a digital twin emulator for high-capacity core switching equipment.This solution implements virtual switching and network processor(NP)chip models through specialized processes,deployable on single or distributed servers via socket communication.The v Fabric emulator can realize the accurate emulation for the core switching equipment with 720 ports and 100 Gbit/s per port on the largest scale.To our knowledge,this represents the first digital twin emulation framework specifically designed for large-capacity core switching equipment in communication networks.
基金supported in part by the National Science Foundation(NSF)of the USA(2146497,2416872,2315596 and 2244219).
文摘In recent years,immense developments have occurred in the field of Artificial Intelligence(AI)and the spread of broadband and ubiquitous connectivity technologies.This has led to the development and commercialization of Digital Twin(DT)technology.The widespread adoption of DT has resulted in a new network paradigm called Digital Twin Networks(DTNs),which orchestrate through the networks of ubiquitous DTs and their corresponding physical assets.DTNs create virtual twins of physical objects via DT technology and realize the co-evolution between physical and virtual spaces through data processing,computing,and DT modeling.The high volume of user data and the ubiquitous communication systems in DTNs come with their own set of challenges.The most serious issue here is with respect to user data privacy and security because users of most applications are unaware of the data that they are sharing with these platforms and are naive in understanding the implications of the data breaches.Also,currently,there is not enough literature that focuses on privacy and security issues in DTN applications.In this survey,we first provide a clear idea of the components of DTNs and the common metrics used in literature to assess their performance.Next,we offer a standard network model that applies to most DTN applications to provide a better understanding of DTN’s complex and interleaved communications and the respective components.We then shed light on the common applications where DTNs have been adapted heavily and the privacy and security issues arising from the DTNs.We also provide different privacy and security countermeasures to address the previously mentioned issues in DTNs and list some state-of-the-art tools to mitigate the issues.Finally,we provide some open research issues and problems in the field of DTN privacy and security.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2022YFB2902100)。
文摘A communication network can natively provide artificial intelligence(AI)training services for resourcelimited network entities to quickly build accurate digital twins and achieve high-level network autonomy.Considering that network entities that require digital twins and those that provide AI services may belong to different operators,incentive mechanisms are needed to maximize the utility of both.In this paper,we establish a Stackelberg game to model AI training task offloading for digital twins in native AI networks with the operator with base stations as the leader and resource-limited network entities as the followers.We analyze the Stackelberg equilibrium to obtain equilibrium solutions.Considering the time-varying wireless network environment,we further design a deep reinforcement learning algorithm to achieve dynamic pricing and task offloading.Finally,extensive simulations are conducted to verify the effectiveness of our proposal.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2024YFE0200600)。
文摘The sixth-generation(6G)mobile network implements the social vision of digital twins and ubiquitous intelligence.Contrary to the fifth-generation(5G)mobile network that focuses only on communications,6G mobile networks must natively support new capabilities such as sensing,computing,artificial intelligence(AI),big data,and security while facilitating Everything as a Service.Although 5G mobile network deployment has demonstrated that network automation and intelligence can simplify network operation and maintenance(O&M),the addition of external functionalities has resulted in low service efficiency and high operational costs.In this study,a technology framework for a 6G autonomous radio access network(RAN)is proposed to achieve a high-level network autonomy that embraces the design of native cloud,native AI,and network digital twin(NDT).First,a service-based architecture is proposed to re-architect the protocol stack of RAN,which flexibly orchestrates the services and functions on demand as well as customizes them into cloud-native services.Second,a native AI framework is structured to provide AI support for the diverse use cases of network O&M by orchestrating communications,AI models,data,and computing power demanded by AI use cases.Third,a digital twin network is developed as a virtual environment for the training,pre-validation,and tuning of AI algorithms and neural networks,avoiding possible unexpected losses of the network O&M caused by AI applications.The combination of native AI and NDT can facilitate network autonomy by building closed-loop management and optimization for RAN.
