End-to-end slice orchestration and lifecycle

The Life of a Slice

A network slice goes through a complete lifecycle managed by orchestration functions. It starts with the design phase where requirements are defined: SLA targets, QoS parameters, capacity needs, security policies, and isolation level. The slice template is then onboarded into the orchestrator. Instantiation follows, where NF instances are created, interfaces configured, and resources allocated across RAN, transport, and core domains. Activation enables traffic flow, connects subscribers, and starts billing. These first four phases take a slice from concept to live production serving real…