A Novel Integrated Architecture for Intent Based Approach and Zero Touch Networks

Abstract

The transition to Sixth Generation (6G) networks presents challenges in managing quality of service (QoS) of diverse applications and achieving Service Level Agreements (SLAs) under varying network conditions. Hence, network management must be automated with the help of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to achieve real-time requirements. Zero touch network (ZTN) is one of the frameworks to automate network management with mechanisms such as closed loop control to ensure that the goals are met perpetually. Intent- Based Networking (IBN) specifies the user intents with diverse network requirements or goals which are then translated into specific network configurations and actions. This paper presents a novel architecture for integrating IBN and ZTN to serve the intent goals. Users provides the intent in the form of natural language, e.g., English, which is then translated using natural language processing (NLP) techniques (e.g., retrieval augmented generation (RAG)) into Network Intent LanguagE (Nile). The Nile intent is then passed on to the BiLSTM and Q-learning based ZTN closed loop framework as a goal which maintains the intent under varying network conditions. Thus, the proposed architecture can work autonomously to ensure the network performance goal is met by just specifying the user intent in English. The integrated architecture is also implemented on a testbed using OpenAirInterface (OAI). Additionally, to evaluate the architecture, an optimization problem is formulated which evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations. Results demonstrate how ZTN can help achieve the bandwidth goals autonomously set by user intent. The simulation and the testbed results are compared and they show similar trend. Mean Opinion Score (MOS) for Quality of Experience (QoE) is also measured to indicate the user satisfaction of the intent.