ZSM-based Management and Orchestration of 3GPP Network Slicing: An Architectural Framework and Deployment Options

Driven by closed-loop automation, the Zero-Touch Network and Services Management (ZSM) framework offers invigorating features for the end-to-end management and orchestration of a sliced network. Although ZSM is considered a promising framework by 3GPP, there is a lack of concrete ZSM-based solutions for the 3GPP Network Slicing management. This article presents an architectural framework of a ZSM-based management system for 3GPP Network Slicing. The proposed framework employs recursive ZSM management domains to meet the specific management requirements of the standard 3GPP Network Slicing framework. Two deployment options are considered for the presented framework. The first option features the integration of the standard services of the 3GPP Management System within ZSM. The other one considers ZSM as a complementary system for the standard 3GPP Management System. From these deployment options, some key questions are identified on ZSM's interoperability with the existing 3GPP Network Slicing systems. Finally, for each option, the architectural and operational feasibility of the ZSM interoperation with 3GPP Network Slicing systems is shown through an example use case.