Network Digital Twin for 6G and Beyond: An End-to-End View Across Multi-Domain Network Ecosystems

Tran, DH; Waheed, N; Saputra, YM; Lin, X; Nguyen, CT; Abdu, TS; Vo, VN; Pham, VQ; Alsenwi, M; Adam, ABM; Chatzinotas, S; Lagunas, E; Tran, H; Dac, TH; Huynh, NV

Network Digital Twin for 6G and Beyond: An End-to-End View Across Multi-Domain Network Ecosystems

Tran, DH Waheed, N

Saputra, YM Lin, X Nguyen, CT Abdu, TS Vo, VN Pham, VQ Alsenwi, M Adam, ABM Chatzinotas, S Lagunas, E Tran, H Dac, TH Huynh, NV

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Publisher:: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, 2025, 6, (99), pp. 6866-6911
Issue Date:: 2025-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Tran, DH
dc.contributor.author	Waheed, N https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5679-5365
dc.contributor.author	Saputra, YM
dc.contributor.author	Lin, X
dc.contributor.author	Nguyen, CT
dc.contributor.author	Abdu, TS
dc.contributor.author	Vo, VN
dc.contributor.author	Pham, VQ
dc.contributor.author	Alsenwi, M
dc.contributor.author	Adam, ABM
dc.contributor.author	Chatzinotas, S
dc.contributor.author	Lagunas, E
dc.contributor.author	Tran, H
dc.contributor.author	Dac, TH
dc.contributor.author	Huynh, NV
dc.date.accessioned	2025-09-29T07:51:50Z
dc.date.available	2025-09-29T07:51:50Z
dc.date.issued	2025-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society, 2025, 6, (99), pp. 6866-6911
dc.identifier.issn	2644-125X
dc.identifier.issn	2644-125X
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190167
dc.description.abstract	With the rapid development of technology, the number of smart mobile users is increasing, accompanied by growing demands from applications such as virtual/augmented reality (VR/XR), remote surgery, autonomous vehicles, and real-time holographic communications, all of which require high transmission rates and ultra-low latency in 6G and beyond networks (6G+). This poses enormous challenges for the efficient deployment of large-scale networks, including network design, planning, troubleshooting, optimization, and maintenance, without affecting the user experience. Network Digital Twin (NDT) has emerged as a potential solution, enabling the creation of a virtual model that reflects the actual network and supports the simulation of various network designs, the application of diverse operating policies, and the reproduction complex fault scenarios under real-world conditions. This motivates us to conduct this study, where we provide a comprehensive survey of NDT in the context of 6G+, covering areas such as radio access networks (RAN), transport networks, 5G core networks and beyond (5GCORE+), cloud/edge computing, applications (blockchain, health system, manufacturing, security, and vehicular networks), non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), and quantum networks, from both academic and industrial perspectives. In particular, we are the first to provide an in-depth guide and usage of RAN and 5GCORE+ for NDT. Then, we provide an extensive review of foundation technologies such as transport networks, cloud/edge computing, applications, NTNs, and quantum networks in NDT. Finally, we discuss the key challenges, open issues, and future research directions for NDT in the context of 6G+.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
dc.relation.ispartof	IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1109/OJCOMS.2025.3599866
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.classification	4006 Communications engineering
dc.title	Network Digital Twin for 6G and Beyond: An End-to-End View Across Multi-Domain Network Ecosystems
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	6
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-09-29T07:51:46Z
pubs.issue	99
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	6
utslib.citation.issue	99

Abstract:

With the rapid development of technology, the number of smart mobile users is increasing, accompanied by growing demands from applications such as virtual/augmented reality (VR/XR), remote surgery, autonomous vehicles, and real-time holographic communications, all of which require high transmission rates and ultra-low latency in 6G and beyond networks (6G+). This poses enormous challenges for the efficient deployment of large-scale networks, including network design, planning, troubleshooting, optimization, and maintenance, without affecting the user experience. Network Digital Twin (NDT) has emerged as a potential solution, enabling the creation of a virtual model that reflects the actual network and supports the simulation of various network designs, the application of diverse operating policies, and the reproduction complex fault scenarios under real-world conditions. This motivates us to conduct this study, where we provide a comprehensive survey of NDT in the context of 6G+, covering areas such as radio access networks (RAN), transport networks, 5G core networks and beyond (5GCORE+), cloud/edge computing, applications (blockchain, health system, manufacturing, security, and vehicular networks), non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), and quantum networks, from both academic and industrial perspectives. In particular, we are the first to provide an in-depth guide and usage of RAN and 5GCORE+ for NDT. Then, we provide an extensive review of foundation technologies such as transport networks, cloud/edge computing, applications, NTNs, and quantum networks in NDT. Finally, we discuss the key challenges, open issues, and future research directions for NDT in the context of 6G+.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190167