Multi-access edge computing (MEC) is an emerging ecosystem, which aims at converging telecommunication and IT services, providing a cloud computing platform at the edge of the radio access network. ...MEC offers storage and computational resources at the edge, reducing latency for mobile end users and utilizing more efficiently the mobile backhaul and core networks. This paper introduces a survey on MEC and focuses on the fundamental key enabling technologies. It elaborates MEC orchestration considering both individual services and a network of MEC platforms supporting mobility, bringing light into the different orchestration deployment options. In addition, this paper analyzes the MEC reference architecture and main deployment scenarios, which offer multitenancy support for application developers, content providers, and third parties. Finally, this paper overviews the current standardization activities and elaborates further on open research challenges.
The post-pandemic future will offer tremendous opportunity and challenge from transformation of the human experience linking physical, digital and biological worlds: 6G should be based on a new ...architecture to fully realize the vision to connect the worlds. We explore several novel architecture concepts for the 6G era driven by a decomposition of the architecture into platform, functions, orchestration and specialization aspects. With 6G, we associate an open, scalable, elastic, and platform agnostic het-cloud, with converged applications and services decomposed into micro-services and serverless functions, specialized architecture for extreme attributes, as well as open service orchestration architecture. Key attributes and characteristics of the associated architectural scenarios are described. At the air-interface level, 6G is expected to encompass use of sub-Terahertz spectrum and new spectrum sharing technologies, air-interface design optimized by AI/ML techniques, integration of radio sensing with communication, and meeting extreme requirements on latency, reliability and synchronization. Fully realizing the benefits of these advances in radio technology will also call for innovations in 6G network architecture as described.
Edge Cloud infrastructure will play a key role in extending the range of supported real-time cloud applications, by guaranteeing extremely fast response times. However, user mobility requires fast ...relocation of service instances, which represents an open challenge for resource-constrained cloudlets interconnected by high-latency and low-bandwidth links. In this paper, we investigate container-based virtualization techniques to support dynamic Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) environments. In particular, we design a framework to guarantee fast response time, by proactively exploiting service replication. A preliminary performance analysis is conducted to identify the possible advantages introduced by the proposed approach compared to classic migration procedures.
Network slicing has been identified as the backbone of the rapidly evolving 5G technology. However, as its consolidation and standardization progress, there are no literatures that comprehensively ...discuss its key principles, enablers, and research challenges. This paper elaborates network slicing from an end-to-end perspective detailing its historical heritage, principal concepts, enabling technologies and solutions as well as the current standardization efforts. In particular, it overviews the diverse use cases and network requirements of network slicing, the pre-slicing era, considering RAN sharing as well as the end-to-end orchestration and management, encompassing the radio access, transport network and the core network. This paper also provides details of specific slicing solutions for each part of the 5G system. Finally, this paper identifies a number of open research challenges and provides recommendations toward potential solutions.
This paper introduces a content delivery network as a service (CDNaaS) platform that allows dynamic deployment and life-cycle management of virtual content delivery network (CDN) slices running ...across multiple administrative cloud domains. The CDN slice consists of four virtual network function (VNF) types, namely virtual transcoders, virtual streamers, virtual caches, and a CDN-slice-specific Coordinator for the management of the slice resources across the involved cloud domains. To create an efficient CDN slice, the optimal placement of its composing VNFs using adequate amount of virtual resources for each VNF is of vital importance. In this vein, this paper devises mechanisms for allocating an appropriate set of VNFs for each CDN slice to meet its performance requirements and minimize as much as possible the incurred cost in terms of allocated virtual resources. A mathematical model is developed to evaluate the performance of the proposed mechanisms. We first formulate the VNF placement problem as two Linear Integer problem models, aiming at minimizing the cost and maximizing the quality of experience (QoE) of the virtual streaming service. By applying the bargaining game theory, we ensure an optimal tradeoff solution between the cost efficiency and QoE. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed models in achieving their design objectives and encouraging results are obtained.
Many ongoing research activities relevant to 5G mobile systems concern the virtualization of the mobile core network, including the evolved packet core (EPC) elements, aiming for system scalability, ...elasticity, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. Virtual EPC (vEPC)/5G core will principally rely on some key technologies, such as network function virtualization, software defined networking, and cloud computing, enabling the concept of mobile carrier cloud. The key idea beneath this concept, also known as core network as a service, consists in deploying virtual instances (i.e., virtual machines or containers) of key core network functions i.e., virtual network functions (VNF) of 4G or 5G, such as the mobility management entity (MME), Serving GateWay (SGW), Packet Data network gateWay (PGW), access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), authentication server function (AUSF), and user plane functions, over a federated cloud. In this vein, an efficient VNF placement algorithm is highly needed to sustain the quality of service (QoS) while reducing the deployment cost. Our contribution in this paper is twofold. First, we devise an algorithm that derives the optimal number of virtual instances of 4G (MME, SGW, and PGW) or 5G (AMF, SMF, and AUSF) core network elements to meet the requirements of a specific mobile traffic. Second, we propose an algorithm for the placement of these virtual instances over a federated cloud. While the first algorithm is based on mixed integer linear programming, the second is based on coalition formation game, wherein the aim is to build coalitions of cloud networks to host the virtual instances of the vEPC/5G core elements. The obtained results clearly indicate the advantages of the proposed algorithms in ensuring QoS given a fixed cost for vEPC/5G core deployment, while maximizing the profits of cloud operators.
5G and beyond mobile systems target a plethora of emerging industrial and entertainment verticals that incur extra overhead to the network. These verticals are characterized by vigorous, continuous, ...and conflicting requirements that make the desired system's mission strenuous and more challenging. These verticals, such as autonomous driving, will accommodate immersive services, including virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) and Holography services. Immersive services, in particular, have strict requirements for latency, throughput, and positioning. This article discusses VR-based remote services' potential, which occupies an important place among immersive services such as remote surgery, remote space control, and remote driving of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or cars. Such services require an ultra-low Glass-to-Glass latency to avoid any failure and accidents when remotely controlling devices. We evaluate an immersive remote control service from the end-to-end communication perspectives using different camera devices that stream real-time 360° videos to a VR Head Mounted Device (HMD). The obtained results demonstrate the challenges of such service and the need for more advanced and optimized techniques, devices, and protocols to achieve less than 20 ms of Glass-to-Glass latency.
5G system and beyond targets a large number of emerging applications and services that will create extra overhead on network traffic. These industrial verticals have aggressive, contentious, and ...conflicting requirements that make the network have an arduous mission for achieving the desired objectives. It is expected to get requirements with close to zero time latency, high data rate, and network reliability. Fortunately, a ray of hope comes shining the way of telecom providers with the new progress and achievements in machine learning, cloud computing, micro-services, and the ETSI ZSM era. For this reason there is a colossal impetus from industry and academia toward applying these techniques by creating a new concept called CCN environment that can cohabit and adapt according to the network and resource state, and perceived KPIs. In this article, we pursue the aforementioned concept by providing a unified hierarchical closed-loop network and service management framework that can meet the desired objectives. We propose a cloud-na-tive simulator that accurately mimics cloud-native environments, and enables us to quickly evaluate new frameworks and ideas. The simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of our simulator for parroting the real testbeds in various metrics.
Network slicing offers numerous benefits, particularly the ability to deliver highly customizable services to new industry sectors that have been unserved or inadequately served by current mobile ...network operators. Among new industry use cases that are targeted by the fifth generation (5G) mobile systems, there exist scenarios that go beyond what the current device-centric mobility approaches can support. The mobility of low latency communication services, shared by a group of moving devices, e.g., autonomous vehicles that share sensor data, is a prime example of these cases. These use cases' demands for ultra-low latency can be addressed by leveraging the Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) concept, techniques for live migration of virtual resources, Software Defined Networking (SDN), and network slicing. In this article, we define different slice mobility patterns, different methods for grouping users, and different triggers for network slice mobility. Furthermore, we evaluate the mobility of services and network slices based on the simultaneous migrations of multiple containers.
To support the much desired ultra-short latency of 5G mobile systems, many micro-data centers will be deployed in the vicinity of mobile users, defining a distributed edge cloud. Over this edge ...cloud, it is important to create optimal network slices to support different 5G verticals. Optimality is defined in terms of cost efficiency and QoS support. Therefore, it is important to understand the behavior of mobile users in terms of mobile service consumption. In this paper, we present, on one hand, a tool for developing a spatio-temporal model of mobile service usage over a particular geographical area. This tool will help to define the behavior of mobile users in terms of mobility patterns and mobile service consumption. On the other hand, based on this tool, we present a benchmark of some interesting Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) placement algorithms, among them our enhanced version of the predictive placement strategy. The comparison is based on data overload, overload of Virtual Machines (VMs) and QoS.
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