Network slicing has emerged as an integral concept in 5G, aiming to partition the physical network infrastructure into isolated slices, customized for specific applications. We theoretically formulate the key performance metrics of an application, in terms of goodput and delivery delay, at a cost of network resources in terms of bandwidth. We explore an un-coded communication protocol that uses feedback-based repetitions, and a coded protocol, implementing random linear network coding and using coding-aware acknowledgments. We find that coding reduces the resource demands of a slice to meet the requirements for an application, thereby serving more applications efficiently. Coded slices thus free up resources for other slices, be they coded or not. Based on these results, we propose a hybrid approach, wherein coding is introduced selectively in certain network slices. This approach not only facilitates a smoother transition from un-coded systems to coded systems but also reduces costs across all slices. Theoretical findings in this paper are validated and expanded upon through real-time simulations of the network.

翻译：网络切片已成为5G中的核心概念，旨在将物理网络基础设施划分为针对特定应用定制的隔离切片。我们从理论上以带宽形式的网络资源成本，定义了应用在有效吞吐量和传输延迟方面的关键性能指标。我们探索了两种协议：一种采用基于反馈重传的未编码通信协议，另一种则实现随机线性网络编码并采用编码感知确认的编码协议。研究发现，编码技术能降低切片满足应用需求的资源占用，从而更高效地服务更多应用。因此，编码切片可为其他切片（无论其是否采用编码）释放资源。基于这些结果，我们提出一种混合方法，即在特定网络切片中选择性地引入编码。这种方法不仅能促进从非编码系统向编码系统的平滑过渡，还能降低所有切片的成本。本文的理论发现已通过网络实时仿真得到验证和扩展。