On-Demand Services in 6G SDN/NFV-Enabled Space-Air-Ground-Integrated Vehicular Networks

Sixth-generation (6G) space-air-ground-integrated vehicular networks (SAGIVNs) are expected to provide flexible and global services for moving vehicles (MVs). This article proposes an on-demand services framework to meet the personalized needs of MVs and improve resource utilization efficiency by integrating 6G SAGIVNs, network function virtualization (NFV), software-defined networking (SDN), and scene recognition. In the framework, we first develop a scene-recognition mechanism to analyze the scene-related demands and multidimensional resources to recognize the network precisely. Then, considering MVs' demand similarities and resource constraints, a group-based resource scheduling mechanism is designed to schedule virtual resources on a group basis to improve network resource efficiency. Next, we explore a knowledge base-enabled on-demand resource scheduling strategy to provide MVs with tailored services. We also introduce the concept of on-demand degree to measure the matching degree between the multi-criteria demands and services. Moreover, a case study validates the effectiveness of our framework against traditional schemes. Finally, we present open research directions to encourage indepth and broad exploration of this field.