Towards E2E Slicing in 5G: A Spectrum Slicing Testbed and Its Extension to the Packet Core

The next generation of cellular networks is expected to provide a huge step forward in terms of network capacity, reduced latency and reliability. Due to the large variety of applications and services, the mobile network is expected to deliver a differentiated quality of experience (QoE) depending on the major application scenarios expected in 5th Generation (5G). To provide the necessary flexibility and reconfigurability of the 5G architecture, network resource partitioning/slicing is expected to provide an efficient and cost effective way of delivering the required QoE. However, few testbeds are available to analyze the pros and cons of such technology, as well as to enable a proper performance evaluation. This paper proposes an outline of the ongoing implementation of a 5G end-to-end network slicing testbed. The testbed is based on an open-source software Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol stack, OpenAirInterface, which operates on Software-defined Radio (SDR) devices, EXPRESSMIMO2 board, extended to implement and demonstrate slicing in a 5G scenario.