URSP and SD-WAN: Preparing for the future of Network Slicing
The current state of 5G is at an inflection point. As the number of 5G standalone networks continues to grow, network slicing capabilities are increasingly becoming a reality.
Senior Product Marketing Manager for Cradlepoint’s NetCloud platform.
If companies can harness this power of network slicing, they will be able to improve their business operations – with critical business functions always active – in addition to maximizing their investments in 5G.
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The answer to fully exploiting all that network slicing has to offer lies in a strategic combination of UE Route Selection Policies (URSP) and SD-WAN solutions.
The current state of network slicing
The appeal of network slicing is the promise of a dedicated service level agreement (SLA) for WANs, without physical cables. 5G standalone networks are a recent development, making network slicing a relatively new technology. The last WAN transport technology supported by an SLA was MPLS.
Recently, major carriers have started to introduce some network slicing options, indicating immediate growth in network slicing possibilities in the near future. This will be important for several sectors, such as public safety and retail.
In fact, currently, public safety agencies can take advantage of dedicated 5G network slices to ensure they have dedicated resources for public safety connectivity, even in emergency situations when the cellular network is congested.
In industries such as retail, network slice service offerings will be important to provide dedicated resources for point-of-sale systems.
While these offerings represent exciting opportunities for businesses, they represent only a small part of where network slicing is heading.
The future of network slicing
Current network slicing offers, such as those discussed above, are single-slice offers. This is equivalent to purchasing a single connection for a dedicated function. This future is one of multi-slice offerings that create more than one network dedicated to critical functions within a business.
For example, a hospital could use network slicing to create a slice specifically for telemedicine consultations, ensuring low latency and high bandwidth for real-time video communication between doctors and patients.
Another tranche could be dedicated to critical medical devices such as remote patient monitoring systems, ensuring high reliability and security.
The multi-slice future of network slicing will provide enterprises with a more definitive vision of how they will support new investments in AI-driven innovation, 5G technology and expanded cloud infrastructure. However, to capitalize on this future, they need the right technology that can maximize the future of network slicing.
The correlation between URPS, SD-WAN and the future of network slicing
Implementing multiple network slices on a single SIM card can only work if the intended applications are oriented to the appropriate slices. It’s like taking a road trip in a way. The only way to efficiently take the fastest route is for vehicles to actually end up on that route.
For mobile phones, URSP is the industry standard for sending the right traffic over the right network slice to the right applications in the cloud or data center. Say, for example, a consumer searches for directions on a navigation app.
URSP helps the appropriate navigation data travel on the best path to the device so the user knows how to get to their destination.
In addition to traffic steering, URSP has the core technology to dynamically provision network slices on an enterprise’s modem. With each of these advantages, the question that arises is: If URSP has the foundational technology to direct data and deliver network slices, where is the need for SD-WAN?
Although URSP has excellent traffic navigation capabilities for applications residing on mobile phones, it has shortcomings when it comes to implementations on enterprise routers.
Today’s businesses can use up to thousands of applications and will therefore need technology that can recognize applications at scale and sufficiently direct traffic in a multi-slice environment.
SD-WAN (or software-defined wide area networking) networking technology has long been the industry standard for recognizing application traffic and transporting it across multiple WAN links.
As the enterprise moves into the world of multi-network slices, it will need SD-WAN technology that can act as a proverbial splitter, recognizing the application and sending it through the appropriate slice.
With this in mind, the basis for a multi-slice future will be neither URPS nor SD-WAN. The goal for businesses should be to find solutions that can support both URPS and SD-WAN technology, paving the way for the most effective use of a multi-slice framework.
Preparing for the future of 5G
Although network operators have begun to deploy network slicing solutions, several operators have been hampered by the inability to acquire more mid-band spectrum (where 5G SA networks live). The acquisition of more 5G SA networks will result in an increase in network slicing services in the future.
This wait in the midst of bad acquisition was directly linked to the Federal Communications Commission’s inability to auction this spectrum. However, due to the passage of the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” the FCC retained its auction authority.
This should pave the way for more spectrum acquisitions, but multi-slicing capabilities will remain in their infancy for the foreseeable future.
As more spectrum is acquired and 5G standalone networks begin to deploy, companies have time to decide how to prepare for the future of network slicing. They have the ability to properly analyze URPS and SD-WAN solutions that can create the best possible foundation for multiple network slices.
In turn, they will create the foundation for a robust and resilient network that can handle businesses’ growing reliance on large-scale AI and cloud computing technologies.
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