  The concept of network slice, i.e.,a service customized virtual network (VN)
is attracting more and more attentions in the telecommunication industry. A
slice is a set of network resources which fits the service attributes and
requirements of customer services. The network resources consist of cloud
resources and communication link resources. A slice can serve one or more
customer services which share the similar service attributes and requirements.
To define, create and manage a slice (VN) is one aspect of future networks.
Another aspect is the slice operation, i.e., the provisioning of services to
customers using created slices. In this paper, the focus is put on the
configuration of slices and the operation of slices. In this paper, the
detailed description of slice (VN) configuration is provided. A new concept of
hop-on (a slice) is described. Given a well defined and configured end-to-end
slice (VN), the realtime data traffic delivery over a slice is governed by
network operation control entities, which are also pre-configured. Therefore,
the procedure of customer traffic delivery over a slice is just like a traveler
hopping on tourist bus and then the traffic control officers at key
intersections directing the traveler to go through pre-designed routes until
the destination is reached.
