Network slicing plays a crucial role in the progression of 5G and beyond, facilitating dedicated logical networks to meet diverse and specific service requirements. The principle of End-to-End (E2E) slice includes not only a service chain of physical or virtual functions for the radio and core of 5G/6G networks but also the full path to the application servers that might be running at some edge computing or at central cloud. Nonetheless, the development and optimization of E2E network slice management systems necessitate a reliable simulation tool for evaluating different aspects at large-scale network topologies such as resource allocation and function placement models. This paper introduces Slicenet, a mininetlike simulator crafted for E2E network slicing experimentation at the flow level. Slicenet aims at facilitating the investigation of a wide range of slice optimization techniques, delivering measurable, reproducible results without the need for physical resources or complex integration tools. It provides a well-defined process for conducting experiments, which includes the creation and implementation of policies for various components such as edge and central cloud resources, network functions of multiple slices of different characteristics. Furthermore, Slicenet effortlessly produces meaningful visualizations from simulation results, aiding in comprehensive understanding. Utilizing Slicenet, service providers can derive invaluable insights into resource optimization, capacity planning, Quality of Service (QoS) assessment, cost optimization, performance comparison, risk mitigation, and Service Level Agreement (SLA) compliance, thereby fortifying network resource management and slice orchestration.

翻译：网络切片在5G及未来通信技术的发展中扮演着关键角色，能够通过专用逻辑网络满足多样化的特定服务需求。端到端(E2E)切片原则不仅包含了5G/6G无线与核心网的物理或虚拟功能服务链，还涵盖了可能运行于边缘计算或中心云的应用程序服务器的完整路径。然而，端到端网络切片管理系统的开发与优化需要可靠的模拟工具，以便在大规模网络拓扑中评估资源分配与功能部署模型等不同方面。本文提出Slicenet——一种专为流级端到端网络切片实验设计的类mininet模拟器。Slicenet旨在支持多种切片优化技术的研究，无需物理资源或复杂的集成工具即可生成可测量、可复现的结果。它提供了一套完善的实验流程，包括为边缘云和中心云资源、具有不同特性的多切片网络功能等组件创建并实施策略。此外，Slicenet能轻松从模拟结果生成具有意义的可视化图表，助力全面理解。通过使用Slicenet，服务提供商可在资源优化、容量规划、服务质量(QoS)评估、成本优化、性能比较、风险缓解以及服务水平协议(SLA)合规等方面获得宝贵的洞察，从而强化网络资源管理与切片编排能力。