Slicing in 6G-Enabled IoT: A Multi-Layer Network Survey

The increasing trend of Internet of Things (IoT) applications has shown the inherent limitations of the conventional 5 G network slicing technologies, especially in terms of ultra-diverse traffic requirements, cross-domain resource management, and energy-efficient characteristics. The emergence of 6 G technology is expected to overcome the limitations of 5 G technology, such as ultra-low latency, the ability to connect a large number of devices, the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, and intelligent automation, etc., but the lack of a holistic slicing paradigm in 6G IoT networks is a critical challenge. This work brings about a comprehensive review of multi-layer slicing in 6G-based IoT, including slicing architectures, classification of traffics, and orchestration strategies from the access, edge, core, and management layers, including satellite-based integrations. This literature review combines servings from current literature on the orchestration of the slicing process with the use of AI, focusing on latency, scalability, and energy efficiency measured in previous investigations. The review also presents an Indiacentric deployment viewpoint and discusses fragmentation in the spectrum, constraints related to rural area connectivity, regulations, as well as country-level endeavors such as BharatNet and the Bharat 6 G Vision. The sustainability aspect is covered with energy-efficient slicing techniques and cost-effective architecture insights to be applicable for a very dense yet resource-poor environment. Lastly, the open research problems related to sustainable 6G-IoT networks are enumerated.