Deliverable D6.2 Foundations on 6G Smart Network Management Enablers

This report presents the design foundations for the envisioned enablers that will be implemented as part of the Smart Network Management framework that is targeted in Hexa-X-II project. This initial design work has been performed based on the analysis of 6G drivers and KPIs/KVIs, elaboration on the functional objectives regarding Management and Orchestration (M&O) established in Hexa-X-II Description of Action (DoA), study of background information elements that have been identified in the State of the Art (SoTA) and the 1st end-to-end Hexa-X-II system blueprint.
The Hexa-X-II Smart Network Management enablers aim to build a programmable cloud-native M&O framework for the future 6G networks, that will be including mechanisms that define a 6G enabled trustworthy environment, orchestration mechanisms for managing the deployment of 6G services over heterogeneous resources across the IoT-to-edge-to-cloud continuum, sustainable AI/ML-based network control solutions with optimal energy efficiency as well as zero-touch M&O mechanisms for closed loop automation, guaranteeing compliance with relevant 6GKVI/ KPIs while reducing OPEX.
The current version of the Smart Network Management enablers presented in this document will be considered into the next (2nd) design iteration of the end-to-end Hexa-X-II system design in a bottom-up approach. The current enablers will be later analysed in order to be compliant with the 6G end-to-end architecture objectives. Further end-to-end requirements will be taken into account to provide an updated and complete design of the enablers expected in the project by June 2024.