An End-to-End (E2E) Network Slice is a complete logical network designed to serve a specific business purpose. According to official Nokia documentation and 3GPP standards, an E2E slice is composed of three fundamental segments or sub-slices: the Access Slice (covering the Radio Access Network - RAN), the Core Slice (covering the Core Network - CN), and the Transport Slice (providing connectivity between RAN and CN). The term "Cloud Slice" is not a standard architectural component of an E2E network slice. While core network functions are often deployed on cloud infrastructure, the cloud itself is the underlying platform, not a distinct segment of the slice in the same way as Access, Core, and Transport.

B. Core Slice: This is an essential part of an E2E slice, containing the set of Core Network functions and resources allocated to that specific slice.

C. Access Slice: This is a fundamental component, comprising the Radio Access Network (RAN) functions and resources dedicated to the slice for connecting user equipment.

D. Transport Slice: This is a critical segment that provides the required connectivity and quality of service for traffic between the access and core parts of the slice.

1. Nokia Official Documentation: Nokia 5G E2E Network Slicing Solution, Solution Description. This document outlines the architecture of an E2E slice, explicitly defining its composition from RAN, transport, and core network domains. The architecture diagrams consistently show these three segments as the building blocks. (Note: Specific internal document IDs are proprietary, but this is the standard architectural model presented in Nokia's public-facing technical white papers on the subject).

2. Academic Publication: Afolabi, I., Taleb, T., Samdanis, K., Ksentini, A., & Flinck, H. (2018). Network Slicing and Softwarization: A Survey on Principles, Enabling Technologies, and Solutions. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 20(3), 2429-2453. Section III-A, "Network Slice Blueprint," describes the E2E slice as an aggregation of resource segments from the RAN, CN, and transport network domains. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2018.2815638

3. Nokia White Paper: The path to cloud-native, automated network slicing. This paper details the components required for E2E slicing, stating, "An end-to-end slice consists of a RAN slice, a transport slice and a core slice." Page 4, "E2E slice components."