Network Slicing, paving the way towards 5G technology | Reply

The need for network slicing arises when each application should “see” a network configured in the optimal way to manage its traffic. This is possible with slicing, even if the network that the application sees is a “slice”, a virtual “slice” of the physical network. The advantage of network slicing is not only in showing an application its ideal network.

The various “slices” of the physical network are also isolated from each other and this, for example, guarantees both greater communication security and the possibility of modifying the operation of one slice without affecting that of the others. This means that an operator can drastically modify a service that it offers to its customers by only acting on one slice in a targeted manner. This would also allow conducting tests and research on dedicated slices, where each slice can mirror a production network, without affecting other slices that serve the live network with real services on top.