Performance Study of Multi-access Edge Computing Deployment in a Virtualized Environment

Various real-time, latency-sensitive, and high-speed mobile applications are evolving as 5G applications. These applications are realized using Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies in the 5G system. MEC platform, MEC service, and MEC application are the main components of an MEC Framework. NFV Orchestrator, Virtualized Infrastructure Manager (VIM), and virtualization technologies such as Virtual Machines (VM) and Containers are the main pillars of the NFV technology. In this paper, we study the impact of the virtualization technologies in the deployment of the MEC framework and its components while. We also study the impact of virtualization technologies on NFV and MEC KPIs such as onboarding time, instantiation time, MEC service and application response times. The experiments and its analysis show that containers perform better than VM to instantiate/terminate MEC components in the NFV framework. The observed MEC service KPIs show that the edge application's performance will be improved to meet the QoE of the applications irrespective of the virtualization technology used. These results can be used as a reference while deploying the MEC components based on their granular functionalities. © 2020 IEEE

Service Migration from Cloud to Multi-tier Fog Nodes for Multimedia Dissemination with QoE Support.

A wide range of multimedia services is expected to be offered for mobile users via various wireless access networks. Even the integration of Cloud Computing in such networks does not support an adequate Quality of Experience (QoE) in areas with high demands for multimedia contents. Fog computing has been conceptualized to facilitate the deployment of new services that cloud computing cannot provide, particularly those demanding QoE guarantees. These services are provided using fog nodes located at the network edge, which is capable of virtualizing their functions/applications. Service migration from the cloud to fog nodes can be actuated by request patterns and the timing issues. To the best of our knowledge, existing works on fog computing focus on architecture and fog node deployment issues. In this article, we describe the operational impacts and benefits associated with service migration from the cloud to multi-tier fog computing for video distribution with QoE support. Besides that, we perform the evaluation of such service migration of video services. Finally, we present potential research challenges and trends

Video Caching, Analytics and Delivery at the Wireless Edge: A Survey and Future Directions

Future wireless networks will provide high bandwidth, low-latency, and ultra-reliable Internet connectivity to meet the requirements of different applications, ranging from mobile broadband to the Internet of Things. To this aim, mobile edge caching, computing, and communication (edge-C3) have emerged to bring network resources (i.e., bandwidth, storage, and computing) closer to end users. Edge-C3 allows improving the network resource utilization as well as the quality of experience (QoE) of end users. Recently, several video-oriented mobile applications (e.g., live content sharing, gaming, and augmented reality) have leveraged edge-C3 in diverse scenarios involving video streaming in both the downlink and the uplink. Hence, a large number of recent works have studied the implications of video analysis and streaming through edge-C3. This article presents an in-depth survey on video edge-C3 challenges and state-of-the-art solutions in next-generation wireless and mobile networks. Specifically, it includes: a tutorial on video streaming in mobile networks (e.g., video encoding and adaptive bitrate streaming); an overview of mobile network architectures, enabling technologies, and applications for video edge-C3; video edge computing and analytics in uplink scenarios (e.g., architectures, analytics, and applications); and video edge caching, computing and communication methods in downlink scenarios (e.g., collaborative, popularity-based, and context-aware). A new taxonomy for video edge-C3 is proposed and the major contributions of recent studies are first highlighted and then systematically compared. Finally, several open problems and key challenges for future research are outlined

Life-cycle management and placement of service function chains in MEC-enabled 5G networks

Recent advancements in mobile communication technology have led to the fifth generation of mobile cellular networks (5G), driven by the proliferation in data traffic demand, stringent latency requirements, and the desire for a fully connected world. This transformation calls for novel technology solutions such as Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to satisfy service requirements while providing dynamic and instant service deployment. MEC and NFV are two principal and complementary enablers for 5G networks whose co-existence can lead to numerous benefits. Despite the numerous advantages MEC offers, physical resources at the edge are extremely scarce and require efficient utilization. In this doctoral dissertation, we first attempt to optimize resource utilization at the network edge for the scenario of live video streaming. We specifically utilize the real-time Radio Access Network (RAN) information available at the MEC servers to develop a machine learning-based prediction solution and anticipate user requests. Consequently, Integer Linear Programming (ILP) models are used to prefetch/cache video contents from a centralized video server. Regarding the advantages of NFV technology for the deployment of NFs, the second problem that this dissertation address is the proper association of the users to the gNBs along with efficient placement of SFCs on the substrate network. Our primary purpose is to find a proper embedding of the SFC in a hierarchical 5G network. The problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model, having the objective to minimize service provisioning cost, link utilization, and the effect of VNF migration on users' perceived quality of experience. After rigorously analyzing the proposed SFC placement and considering mobile networks' dynamicity, our next goal is to develop an ILP-based model that minimizes the resource provisioning cost by dynamically embed and scale SFCs so that provisioning cost is minimized while user requirements are met

Computing on the Edge of the Network

Um Systeme der fünften Generation zellularer Kommunikationsnetze (5G) zu ermöglichen, sind Energie effiziente Architekturen erforderlich, die eine zuverlässige Serviceplattform für die Bereitstellung von 5G-Diensten und darüber hinaus bieten können. Device Enhanced Edge Computing ist eine Ableitung des Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC), das Rechen- und Speicherressourcen direkt auf den Endgeräten bereitstellt. Die Bedeutung dieses Konzepts wird durch die steigenden Anforderungen von rechenintensiven Anwendungen mit extrem niedriger Latenzzeit belegt, die den MEC-Server allein und den drahtlosen Kanal überfordern. Diese Dissertation stellt ein Berechnungs-Auslagerungsframework mit Berücksichtigung von Energie, Mobilität und Anreizen in einem gerätegestützten MEC-System mit mehreren Benutzern und mehreren Aufgaben vor, das die gegenseitige Abhängigkeit der Aufgaben sowie die Latenzanforderungen der Anwendungen berücksichtigt.To enable fifth generation cellular communication network (5G) systems, energy efficient architectures are required that can provide a reliable service platform for the delivery of 5G services and beyond. Device Enhanced Edge Computing is a derivative of Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC), which provides computing and storage resources directly on the end devices. The importance of this concept is evidenced by the increasing demands of ultra-low latency computationally intensive applications that overwhelm the MEC server alone and the wireless channel. This dissertation presents a computational offloading framework considering energy, mobility and incentives in a multi-user, multi-task device-based MEC system that takes into account task interdependence and application latency requirements

A REVIEW STUDY OF EUROPEAN R&D PROJECTS FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS IN 5G/6G ERA

Κατά τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες τα δορυφορικά συστήματα τηλεπικοινωνιών έχουν προσφέρει μια γκάμα από πολυμεσικές υπηρεσίες όπως δορυφορική τηλεόραση, δορυφορική τηλεφωνία και ευρυζωνική πρόσβαση στο διαδίκτυο. Οι μακροπρόθεσμες τεχνολογικές αναβαθμίσεις σε συνδυασμό με την προσθήκη νέων δορυφορικών συστημάτων γεωστατικής και ελλειπτικής τροχιάς και με την ενσωμάτωση τεχνολογιών πληροφορικής έχουν ωθήσει την αύξηση του μέγιστου εύρους των δορυφόρων στο 1Gbps σε μεμονωμένους δορυφόρους ενώ σε διάταξη αστερισμού μπορούν να ξεπεράσουν το 1 Tbps. Σε συνδυασμό με την μείωση του χρόνου απόκρισης σε ρυθμούς ανταγωνιστικούς με τις χερσαίες υποδομές ανοίγουν νέες ευκαιρίες και νέους ρόλους εντός ενός οικοσυστήματος ετερογενούς δικτύων 5ης γενιάς. Σε αυτήν την διατριβή, αξιολογούμε επιδοτούμενα επιστημονικά προγράμματα έρευνας και ανάπτυξης της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής Διαστήματος (ESA) και του προγράμματος επιδότησης Horizon 2020 της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, προκειμένου να εξηγήσουμε τις δυνατότητες των δορυφόρων εντός ενός ετερογενούς δικτύου 5ης γενιάς, αναφέρουμε συγκεκριμένα αυτά που αφορούν την εξέλιξη των δορυφορικών ψηφιακών συστημάτων και την ικανότητα ενσωμάτωσης τους σε τωρινές αλλά και μελλοντικές υποδομές χερσαίων τηλεπικοινωνιακών δικτύων μέσω της εμφάνισης νέων τεχνολογιών στις ηλεκτρονικές και οπτικές επικοινωνίες αέρος μαζί με την εμφάνιση τεχνολογιών πληροφορικής όπως της δικτύωσης βασισμένης στο λογισμικό και της εικονικοποίησης λειτουργιών δικτύου. Αναφερόμαστε στους στόχους του κάθε project ξεχωριστά και κατηγοριοποιημένα στους ακόλουθους τομείς έρευνας: -Συσσωμάτωση των δορυφόρων με τα επίγεια δίκτυα 5ης γενιάς με οργανωμένες μελέτες και στρατηγικές -Ενσωμάτωση των τεχνολογιών δικτύωσης βασισμένης στο λογισμικό και εικονικοποίησης λειτουργιών δικτύου στο δορυφορικών τμήμα των δικτύων 5ης γενιάς -Ο ρόλος των δορυφόρων σε εφαρμογές του διαδικτύου των πραγμάτων σε συνάφεια με τα χερσαία δίκτυα 5ης γενιάς -Ο ρόλος των δορυφόρων στην δίκτυα διανομής πολυμεσικού περιεχομένου & η επιρροή των πρωτοκόλλων διαδικτύου στην ποιότητα υπηρεσίας χρήστη κατά την διάρκεια μιας δορυφορικής σύνδεσης. -Μελλοντικές βελτιώσεις και εφαρμογές στα δορυφορικά συστήματα με έμφαση στα μελλοντικά πρότυπα του φυσικό επιπέδου Στο τέλος διαθέτουμε ένα παράρτημα που αφορά τεχνικές αναλύσεις στην εξέλιξη του φυσικού επιπέδου των δορυφορικών συστημάτων, συνοδευόμενο με την συσχετιζόμενη βιβλιογραφία για περαιτέρω μελέτη.Over the last decades satellite telecommunication systems offer many types of multimedia services like Satellite TV, telephony and broadband internet access. The long-term technological evolutions occurred into state-of-the-art satellite systems altogether with the addition of new high throughput geostatic and non-geostatic systems, individual satellites can now achieve a peak bandwidth of up to Gbps, and with possible extension into satellite constellation systems the total capacity can reach up to Tbps. Supplementary, with systems latency being comparable to terrestrial infrastructures and with integration of several computer science technologies, satellite systems can achieve new & more advanced roles inside a heterogeneous 5G network’s ecosystem. In this thesis, we have studied European Space Agency (ESA’s) and European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 Research and Development (R&D) funded projects in order to describe the satellite capabilities within a 5G heterogeneous network, mentioning the impact of the evolution of digital satellite communications and furthermore the integration with the state-of the art & future terrain telecommunication systems by new technologies occurred through the evolution of electronic & free space optical communications alongside with the integration of computer science’s technologies like Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV). In order to describe this evolution we have studied the concepts of each individual project, categorized chronically and individual by its scientific field of research. Our main scientific trends for this thesis are: -Satellite Integration studies & strategies into the 5G terrestrial networks -Integration of SDN and NFV technologies on 5G satellite component -Satellite’s role in the Internet of Things applications over 5G terrestrial networks -Satellite’s role in Content Distribution Networks & internet protocols impact over user’s Quality of Experience (QoE) over a satellite link -The future proposals upon the evolution of Satellite systems by upcoming improvements and corresponding standards Finally, we have created an Annex for technical details upon the evolution of physical layer of the satellite systems with the corresponding bibliography of this thesis for future study

Defining crucial factors of cloud gaming services and how gamers value them

In recent years, the gaming market experienced the addition of a new platform for users to play on. Cloud Gaming Services are rivaling PC hardware and console manufacturers. Big players like Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Amazon entered the market and now compete for market share. This thesis aims to find the most relevant parameters responsible for the success of cloud gaming, and subsequently analyze how gamers value these parameters. Current research about the gaming industry and cloud services in the form of secondary data was used as a foundation to find the most relevant and challenging factors for service providers. In addition, primary data in the form of a consumer survey was collected to analyze the perception of gamers on the topic. The analysis showed that the most important parameters could be grouped into two categories: performance-related and service structure. Hardcore gamers focus more on performance-related issues compared to casual gamers. The amount consumers are willing to spend is not dependent on income but on the service's offerings.Nos últimos anos, novas plataformas para onde os usuários podem jogar, foram adicionadas ao mercado do gaming. Cloud Gaming Services oferecem concorrência a hardware de PC e a fabricantes de consolas. Grandes empresas como a Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA e Amazon entraram no mercado com capacidade de competir. Esta tese visa encontrar os parâmetros mais relevantes responsáveis pelo sucesso dos jogos na nuvem, e subsequentemente analisar como os jogadores valorizam estes parâmetros. A investigação actual sobre a indústria de jogos e serviços em nuvem sob a forma de dados secundários foi utilizada como base para encontrar os factores mais relevantes e desafiantes para os prestadores de serviços. Além disso, foram recolhidos dados primários sob a forma de um inquérito aos consumidores para analisar a percepção dos jogadores sobre o tema. A análise mostrou que os parâmetros mais importantes podiam ser agrupados em duas categorias: relacionados com o desempenho e a estrutura dos serviços. Os jogadores hardcore concentram-se mais em questões relacionadas com o desempenho em comparação com os jogadores casuais. A quantidade que os consumidores estão dispostos a gastar não depende dos rendimentos, mas das ofertas do serviço

Infrastructure sharing of 5G mobile core networks on an SDN/NFV platform

When looking towards the deployment of 5G network architectures, mobile network operators will continue to face many challenges. The number of customers is approaching maximum market penetration, the number of devices per customer is increasing, and the number of non-human operated devices estimated to approach towards the tens of billions, network operators have a formidable task ahead of them. The proliferation of cloud computing techniques has created a multitude of applications for network services deployments, and at the forefront is the adoption of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV). Mobile network operators (MNO) have the opportunity to leverage these technologies so that they can enable the delivery of traditional networking functionality in cloud environments. The benefit of this is reductions seen in the capital and operational expenditures of network infrastructure. When going for NFV, how a Virtualised Network Function (VNF) is designed, implemented, and placed over physical infrastructure can play a vital role on the performance metrics achieved by the network function. Not paying careful attention to this aspect could lead to the drastically reduced performance of network functions thus defeating the purpose of going for virtualisation solutions. The success of mobile network operators in the 5G arena will depend heavily on their ability to shift from their old operational models and embrace new technologies, design principles and innovation in both the business and technical aspects of the environment. The primary goal of this thesis is to design, implement and evaluate the viability of data centre and cloud network infrastructure sharing use case. More specifically, the core question addressed by this thesis is how virtualisation of network functions in a shared infrastructure environment can be achieved without adverse performance degradation. 5G should be operational with high penetration beyond the year 2020 with data traffic rates increasing exponentially and the number of connected devices expected to surpass tens of billions. Requirements for 5G mobile networks include higher flexibility, scalability, cost effectiveness and energy efficiency. Towards these goals, Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualisation have been adopted in recent proposals for future mobile networks architectures because they are considered critical technologies for 5G. A Shared Infrastructure Management Framework was designed and implemented for this purpose. This framework was further enhanced for performance optimisation of network functions and underlying physical infrastructure. The objective achieved was the identification of requirements for the design and development of an experimental testbed for future 5G mobile networks. This testbed deploys high performance virtualised network functions (VNFs) while catering for the infrastructure sharing use case of multiple network operators. The management and orchestration of the VNFs allow for automation, scalability, fault recovery, and security to be evaluated. The testbed developed is readily re-creatable and based on open-source software

Mobile Edge Computing: Architetture ed Analisi della Live Migration

Con l'ormai prossima rete mobile 5G entreranno a far parte della nostra quotidianit\ue0 nuovi servizi applicativi, mai prima possibili, grazie all'avvicinamento di risorse di calcolo e di memoria nei pressi dell'utente in mobilit\ue0. Un\u2019architettura abilitante i futuri servizi \ue8 quella di Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) in cui cloud di capacit\ue0 inferiori rispetto a quelli presenti nella core della rete sono dislocati nei pressi della stazioni radio e metteranno a disposizione risorse di calcolo tali da permettere, tramite la tecnica di offloading, la fruizione di servizi quali realt\ue0 aumentata, gaming online, contenuti streaming ad alta risoluzione ed operazioni di data analytics. Ogni nuovo paradigma porta con s\ue9 nuove sfide d'affrontare e risolvere per potere essere applicabile. Ecco, dunque, che s'introduce l'obiettivo perseguito durante questo percorso di ricerca che \ue8 stato quello di analizzare, modellare diversi aspetti di uno dei tanti problemi del MEC che \ue8 la continuit\ue0 del servizio che \ue8 in funzione non solo del normale spostamento dell'utente mobile, ma anche dalle risorse presenti del server sorgente. Il percorso di studi e di ricerca \ue8 stato cos\uec strutturato: Studio iniziale sulle nuove sfide del 5G per poi dedicarsi ad uno studio approfondito sull'architettura di riferimento del mobile edge computing sino ad una piattaforma open-source di nome M-CORD. Questa prima parte \ue8 stata propedeutica per potere svolgere i seguenti lavori di ricerca. Un primo lavoro \ue8 consistito nel proporre una modifica di un framework per la live migration ed analizzare i tempi di migrazione di applicazioni RAM-intensive sviluppando un modello simulante l\u2019esecuzione di tali applicazioni con uno dei possibili algoritmi di migrazione e cio\ue8 quello di pre-copy anzich\ue8 quello di post-copy. Le nostre ipotesi confortate dai risultati numerici hanno evidenziato che l'algoritmo di pre-copy \ue8 preferibile nella service migration di applicazioni RAM-intensive. Un successivo lavoro \ue8 nato dalla considerazione che grazie ai server MEC vi sar\ue0 un'altissima diffusione di contenuti multimediali e molti di essi saranno a pagamento e regolati da contratti di service level agreement (SLA) e, dunque, abbiamo progettato e sviluppato un'applicazione di machine learning che potrebbe essere installata direttamente nello smartphone che in background analizza ed individua in tempo reale la risoluzione video ricevuta cos\uec da verificare il rispetto del SLA. Inoltre abbiamo anche disegnato un'architettura in cui la service migration possa essere originata dal client mobile, una volta verificatosi la violazione (breach) contrattuale. I risultati sono stati promettenti visto che si \ue8 ottenuta un'accuratezza superiore al 95% su dati mai visti. Questo lavoro ha anche evidenziato le enormi potenzialit\ue0 offerte dal machine learning capace di discernere caratteristiche intrinseche dell'applicazione senza alcun ausilio di analisi protocollare. Un terzo lavoro \ue8 stato quello di estendere il modello di analisi dei tempi di migrazione per applicazioni RAM-intensive andando a simulare, sempre sotto l'ipotesi di applicare l'algoritmo di pre-copy, la presenza di un controller SDN che permette una continua riconfigurazione dinamica dei percorsi di rete. A tale scopo abbiamo quindi proposto una nuova architettura basata sia su MEC che SDN, modellato e simulato alcuni scenari di traffico di rete ed analizzato le prestazioni temporali. I risultati hanno evidenziato che grazie alla continua riconfigurazione dinamica dei percorsi, assicurando quello pi\uf9 veloce ad ogni iterazione dell'algoritmo, in determinati scenari si sono ottenuti tempi di migrazioni pi\uf9 bassi sino al 90%. \uc8, dunque, chiaro che la cooperazione di MEC e SDN possa fornire un servizio di migrazione pi\uf9 efficiente poich\ue9 ad un minore tempo di trasferimento permetter\ue0 il rispetto dei stringenti vincoli temporali di molte applicazioni. Infine, un quarto lavoro \ue8 nato dall'osservazione che se \ue8 vero che la tecnologia pi\uf9 in linea per abilitare i nuovi servizi 5G sia quella dei containers, essendo molto pi\uf9 veloci delle virtual machine, \ue8 altrettanto vero che ad oggi per design i containers sono soggetti ad intrinsechi problemi di sicurezza dovuto principalmente alla condivisione del Kernel host con tutti i containers in esecuzione. Per tale motivo, anzich\ue9 sviluppare soluzioni personalizzate non standardizzate che facessero uso sia dei containers che delle virtual machine, abbiamo ricercato ed analizzato una nuova promettente architettura che potrebbe costituire la base per la migrazione dei servizi garantendo al contempo sia leggerezza e velocit\ue0 che sicurezza di nome Kata-containers. Essendo una nuovissima architettura abbiamo svolto uno studio sulle sue principali caratteristiche e li abbiamo poi confrontate da un punto di vista qualitativo con quelle di Docker che rappresenta lo standard de facto per la tecnologia containers. Da tale analisi \ue8 emerso che tale nuova architettura, se pur ancora da migliorare, potr\ue0 rappresentare il pilastro portante per la migrazione dei servizi tra MEC server