A Study on Slice-Aware Industrial Edge Applications for Next-Generation Private Networks
Aykut Çubukçu, Adnan Kavak, Özlem Çubukçu, Yağmur Sabucu Sandal, Kerem Küçük · 2023
Networks should be more flexible, reliable and sustainable than ever in order to meet the requirements of the different applications and services for end-user in 5G and beyond. Existing 5G networks are designed based on a modular architecture which allows network slicing to create different network layers with various characteristics and capabilities. Edge computing mechanisms provide low latency communication and low power consumption for users. In this study, we introduced end-to-end industrial edge application for private network use cases from the standardization point of view by using key enabling technologies such as mobile edge computing (MEC), network slicing, network exposure function (NEF), UE route selection policy (URSP). We analyzed industrial robotic application behaviors in terms of end-to-end network delay and bandwidth usage by simulating possible industrial 5G use cases. We highlighted the potential of network slicing, MEC and NEF-application function (AF) interaction as we move into industrial digital worlds.