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A sophisticated and efficient network slicing architecture is needed to support the orchestration of network slices across multiple administrative domains. Such multi-domain architecture shall be agnostic of the underlying virtualization and network infrastructure technologies. Its objective is to extend the traditional orchestration, management and control capabilities by means of models and constructs in order to form a well-stitched composition of network slices. To facilitate such composition of networking and compute/storage resources, this paper introduces a management and orchestration architecture that incorporates Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) components to the basic 3GPP network slice management. The proposed architecture is broadly divided into four major strata, namely Multi-domain Service Conductor Stratum, Domain-specific Fully-Fledged Orchestration Stratum, Sub-Domain Management and Orchestration (MANO) and Connectivity Stratum, and Logical Multidomain Slice Instance stratum. Each of these strata is described in detail providing also the fundamental operational specifics for instantiating and managing the resulting federated network slices.

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Existing mobile network infrastructures, for example the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), are based on mission specific, specialized network nodes/entities that are interconnect via standardized interfaces in a static manner, each providing a specific service/function. One common practice adopted by many Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in order to cater to increasing traffic demand is the over provisioning of network and processing resources. However, this approach results in increased CAPEX and OPEX and in view of future load forecasts this approach is no longer considered feasible or economical.In this paper we address this specific issue and propose the concept of softEPC, which leverages the recent advances in cloud technology concept such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and virtualization techniques in the realm of mobile networks. A softEPC is considered as a virtual network of Evolved Packet Core (EPC) functions over a physical transport network topology. This will enable the on-demand and load-aware dynamic instantiation of network functions and services at appropriate locations in response to the actual traffic demand. The main objective of this approach is to increase the utilization of network resources by flexibly and dynamically placing the network functions/services where most appropriate to provide optimum service and where resources are available to increase the number of services provided to mobile users. The benefits and gains of this approach will be demonstrated by means of simulation results.Index Terms-Cloud networking, Mobile network virtualization.

Autonomous management and orchestration (MANO) of virtualized resources and services, especially in large-scale Network Function Virtualization (NFV) environments, is a big challenge owing to the stringent delay and performance requirements expected of a variety of network services. The Quality-of-Decisions (QoD) of a Management and Orchestration (MANO) system depends on the quality and timeliness of the information received from the underlying monitoring system. The data generated by monitoring systems is a significant contributor to the network and processing load of MANO systems, impacting thus their performance. This raises a unique challenge: how to jointly optimize the QoD of MANO systems while at the same minimizing their monitoring loads at runtime? This is the main focus of this paper.In this context, we propose a novel automated NFV orchestration solution, namely z-TORCH (zero Touch Orchestration) that jointly optimizes the orchestration and monitoring processes by exploiting machine-learning-based techniques. The objective is to enhance the QoD of MANO systems achieving a near-optimal placement of Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) at minimum monitoring costs.

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