Integrating AI Orchestration and Lifecycle Management in 6G Networks: A Pipeline Approach

On the threshold of a new technological era, Sixth Generation (6G) networks promise to revolutionize global connectivity, bringing mobile communications to data speeds in the terabits per second range and ultra-low latency. These networks will enhance the user experience enable a wide range of advanced applications and emerging services. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered network functions and services, also known as Network Intelligence Functions (NIF) and Network Intelligence Service (NIS), are essential to achieve this vision. In this study, we present the design and development of an end-to-end framework for orchestrating AI-based functions. Utilizing Kubernetes (K8s) and Prefect, we showcase its implementation through an AI-driven Traffic Classification (TC) use case. Our results confirm the feasibility of the proposed framework, offering valuable insights in the lifecycle management design, such as data collection, decision-making, and critical performance metrics, including deployment time and model performance in terms of accuracy and inference times among three different Machine Learning (ML)-based TC models.