Ali Chouman

Ali Chouman, Dimitrios Michael Manias, Abdallah Shami

Wireless networks, in the fifth-generation and beyond, must support diverse network applications which will support the numerous and demanding connections of today's and tomorrow's devices. Requirements such as high data rates, low latencies, and reliability are crucial considerations and artificial intelligence is incorporated to achieve these requirements for a large number of connected devices. Specifically, intelligent methods and frameworks for advanced analysis are employed by the 5G Core Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) to detect patterns and ascribe detailed action information to accommodate end users and improve network performance. To this end, the work presented in this paper incorporates a functional NWDAF into a 5G network developed using open source software. Furthermore, an analysis of the network data collected by the NWDAF and the valuable insights which can be drawn from it have been presented with detailed Network Function interactions. An example application of such insights used for intelligent network management is outlined. Finally, the expected limitations of 5G networks are discussed as motivation for the development of 6G networks.

Dimitrios Michael Manias, Ali Chouman, Abdallah Shami

Data-driven approaches and paradigms have become promising solutions to efficient network performances through optimization. These approaches focus on state-of-the-art machine learning techniques that can address the needs of 5G networks and the networks of tomorrow, such as proactive load balancing. In contrast to model-based approaches, data-driven approaches do not need accurate models to tackle the target problem, and their associated architectures provide a flexibility of available system parameters that improve the feasibility of learning-based algorithms in mobile wireless networks. The work presented in this paper focuses on demonstrating a working system prototype of the 5G Core (5GC) network and the Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) used to bring the benefits of data-driven techniques to fruition. Analyses of the network-generated data explore core intra-network interactions through unsupervised learning, clustering, and evaluate these results as insights for future opportunities and works.

Dimitrios Michael Manias, Ali Chouman, Abdallah Shami

The advent of Fifth Generation (5G) and beyond 5G networks (5G+) has revolutionized the way network operators consider the management and orchestration of their networks. With an increased focus on intelligence and automation through core network functions such as the NWDAF, service providers are tasked with integrating machine learning models and artificial intelligence systems into their existing network operation practices. Due to the dynamic nature of next-generation networks and their supported use cases and applications, model drift is a serious concern, which can deteriorate the performance of intelligent models deployed throughout the network. The work presented in this paper introduces a model drift detection and adaptation module for 5G core networks. Using a functional prototype of a 5G core network, a drift in user behaviour is emulated, and the proposed framework is deployed and tested. The results of this work demonstrate the ability of the drift detection module to accurately characterize a drifted concept as well as the ability of the drift adaptation module to begin the necessary remediation efforts to restore system performance.

Lara Tarkh, Ali Chouman, Hanan Lutfiyya et al.

Smart and connected mobility systems rely on 5G edge infrastructure to support real-time communication, control, and service differentiation. Achieving this requires adaptive resource management mechanisms that can react to rapidly changing traffic conditions. In this paper, we propose RL-Loop, a closed-loop reinforcement learning framework for real-time CPU resource control in 5G network slicing environments supporting connected mobility services. RL-Loop employs a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) agent that continuously observes slice-level key performance indicators and adjusts edge CPU allocations at one-second granularity on a real testbed. The framework leverages real-time observability and feedback to enable adaptive, software-defined edge intelligence. Experimental results suggest that RL-Loop can reduce average CPU allocation by over 55% relative to the reference operating point while reaching a comparable quality-of-service degradation region. These results indicate that lightweight reinforcement learning--based feedback control can provide efficient and responsive resource management for 5G-enabled smart mobility and connected vehicle services.

Dimitrios Michael Manias, Ali Chouman, Abdallah Shami

The integration of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI) into fifth-generation (5G) networks has made evident the limitations of network intelligence with ever-increasing, strenuous requirements for current and next-generation devices. This transition to ubiquitous intelligence demands high connectivity, synchronicity, and end-to-end communication between users and network operators, and will pave the way towards full network automation without human intervention. Intent-based networking is a key factor in the reduction of human actions, roles, and responsibilities while shifting towards novel extraction and interpretation of automated network management. This paper presents the development of a custom Large Language Model (LLM) for 5G and next-generation intent-based networking and provides insights into future LLM developments and integrations to realize end-to-end intent-based networking for fully automated network intelligence.

Dimitrios Michael Manias, Ali Chouman, Abdallah Shami

Large language models (LLMs) are rapidly emerging in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, especially in the fields of natural language processing and generative AI. Not limited to text generation applications, these models inherently possess the opportunity to leverage prompt engineering, where the inputs of such models can be appropriately structured to articulate a model's purpose explicitly. A prominent example of this is intent-based networking, an emerging approach for automating and maintaining network operations and management. This paper presents semantic routing to achieve enhanced performance in LLM-assisted intent-based management and orchestration of 5G core networks. This work establishes an end-to-end intent extraction framework and presents a diverse dataset of sample user intents accompanied by a thorough analysis of the effects of encoders and quantization on overall system performance. The results show that using a semantic router improves the accuracy and efficiency of the LLM deployment compared to stand-alone LLMs with prompting architectures.