Noisy Neighbour Impact Assessment and Prevention in Virtualized Mobile Networks

The generalization in the use of virtualization in the upcoming generation of cellular networks involves new paradigms and approaches for their management. The correct sharing of the underlying resources between multiple virtualized network functions as well as any other processes sharing the same computational platform implies a complex architecture that makes virtualization challenging. As a result, numerous variables (e.g., computational capacity) were mostly ignored by previous management systems, but that can now lead to relevant impacts on the service performance. In this virtualized scenario with multiple coexistent processes over the same hardware, a “Noisy Neighbour” (NN) is identified as an entity that uses most of the underlying resources while other virtual units suffer a lack of them. While difficult to identify, such situations can affect the network service. In this context, the present work analyzes and assesses the NN problem for 5G Core scenarios. A complete emulated 5G network and analysis framework is defined and developed to evaluate the impact of a noisy entity. In this way, the degradation that Key Performance Indicators suffer in the network and by the end-users when a NN appears is assessed. Thus, the present work proposes a baseline for handling NN through a novel lifecycle management flow. For this purpose, it is evaluated the effectiveness of multiple Machine Learning (ML) models for the identification of NN, based on the metrics gathered from the proposed framework, achieving 99% of accuracy. Moreover, ML is applied to develop a method for network performance inference, along with a prediction model to forecast the number of CPU resources the network may demand at any given time supporting the proposed management flow.