Applicability of Abstraction and Control of Traffic Engineered Networks (ACTN) to Network Slicing

Network abstraction is a technique that can be applied to a network domain to obtain a view of potential connectivity across the network by utilizing a set of policies to select network resources. Network slicing is an approach to network operations that builds on   the concept of network abstraction to provide programmability, flexibility, and modularity.  It may use techniques such as Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to create multiple logical or virtual networks, each tailored for a set   of services that share the same set of requirements. Abstraction and Control of Traffic Engineered Networks (ACTN) is described in RFC 8453. It defines an SDN-based architecture that relies on the concept of network and service abstraction to detach   network and service control from the underlying data plane. This document outlines the applicability of ACTN to network slicing in a Traffic Engineered (TE) network that utilizes IETF technologies. It also identifies the features of network slicing not currently   within the scope of ACTN, and indicates where ACTN might be extended.