Federated intelligent service function chain orchestration in future 6g networks

Abstract

The emergence of beyond 5G and 6G networks is set to revolutionise telecommunications, addressing the demands of emerging applications through advanced capabilities. At the core of this transformation lies next-generation intelligent service orchestration, which is essential for meeting future Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Value Indicators (KVIs) such as ultra-low latency, efficient power consumption and resource utilisation. These capabilities require multi-objective, seamless end-to-end service delivery across complex, distributed environments. Achieving such delivery requires scalable and modular system design approaches that support dynamic service composition and adaptability. Cloud-native technologies, underpinned by microservices architectures, plays a pivotal role, but also will introduce challenges in orchestrating resources efficiently across heterogeneous domains.

To address these challenges, this paper proposes a Federated Intelligent multi-objective Service function chain Orchestration (FISO) solution that integrates multi-objective federated profiling to preserve privacy while ensuring efficient end-to-end service delivery. FISO integrates both Federated Learning (FL) and Reinforcement Learning (RL). FL is employed to collaboratively learn from distributed edge profiling clients without sharing raw data, while RL dynamically guides optimal decision-making for resource allocation and Service Function Chain (SFC) placement based on feedback from the federated models. FISO predicts optimal computing and network resources for SFCs, enabling the selection of appropriate edge locations, efficient resource allocation, SFC placement, and lifecycle management. Experimental results, demonstrated over a pragmatic testbed, validate FISO’s effectiveness in placing requested SFCs efficiently within an administrative domain with multiple edge/cloud nodes, predicting optimal CPU, memory, and link capacity resources, and minimising end-to-end latency and energy consumption.