An Integrated, Virtualized Joint Edge and Fog Computing System with Multi-RAT Convergence

Notably, developing an innovative architectural network paradigm is essential to address the technical challenging of 5G applications' requirements in a unified platform. Forthcoming applications will provide a wide range ofnetworking, computing and storage capabilities closer to the endusers.In this context, the 5G-PPP Phase two project named "5GCORAL:A 5G Convergent Virtualized Radio Access Network Living at the Edge" aims at identifying and experimentally validating which are the key technology innovations allowing for the development of a convergent 5G multi-RAT access based on a virtualized Edge and Fog architecture being scalable, flexible and interoperable with other domains including transport, core network and distant Clouds. In 5G-CORAL, an architecture is proposed based on ETSI MEC and ETSI NFV frameworks in a unified platform. Then, a set of exemplary use cases benefiting from Edge and Fog networks in near proximity of the end-user are proposed for demonstration on top of connected car, shopping mall and high-speed train platforms.This work has been partially funded by the H2020 collaborative Europe/Taiwan research project 5G-CORAL (grant num. 761586

Deployment of IoT Edge and Fog Computing Technologies to Develop Smart Building Services

Advances in embedded systems, based on System-on-a-Chip (SoC) architectures, have enabled the development of many commercial devices that are powerful enough to run operating systems and complex algorithms. These devices integrate a set of different sensors with connectivity, computing capacities and cost reduction. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT) potential increases and introduces other development possibilities: “Things” can now increase computation near the source of the data; consequently, different IoT services can be deployed on local systems. This paradigm is known as “edge computing” and it integrates IoT technologies and cloud computing systems. Edge computing reduces the communications’ bandwidth needed between sensors and the central data centre. Management of sensors, actuators, embedded devices and other resources that may not be continuously connected to a network (such as smartphones) are required for this method. This trend is very attractive for smart building designs, where different subsystems (energy, climate control, security, comfort, user services, maintenance, and operating costs) must be integrated to develop intelligent facilities. In this work, a method to design smart services based on the edge computing paradigm is analysed and proposed. This novel approach overcomes some drawbacks of existing designs related to interoperability and scalability of services. An experimental architecture based on embedded devices is described. Energy management, security system, climate control and information services are the subsystems on which new smart facilities are implemented.This research was supported by the Industrial Computers and Computer Networks programme (I2RC) (2017/2018) funded by the University of Alicante, Wak9 Holding BV company under the eo-TICC project, the Valencian Innovation Agency under scientific innovation unit (UCIE Ars Innovatio) of the University of Alicante and by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the project CloudDriver4Industry TIN2017-89266-R

Seamless integration of cloud and fog networks

A way to merge cloud computing infrastructures with traditional or legacy network deployments, leveraging the best in both worlds and enabling a logically centralized control. A solution is proposed to extend existing cloud computing software stacks so they are able to manage networks outside the cloud computing infrastructure, the fog, by extending the internal, virtualized network segments. This is useful in a variety of use cases such as incremental legacy to cloud network migration, hybrid virtual/traditional networking, centralized control of existing networks, bare metal provisioning, and even offloading of advanced services from typical home gateways into the operator. Any organization can develop different drivers' to support new, specific networking equipment, not necessarily tied to a protocol or vendor, and leverage the fog network. Our conceptual solution is prototyped on top of OpenStack, including changes to the API, command-line interface (CLI), and other mechanisms. Test results indicate that there are low penalties on latency and throughput, and provisioning times are reduced in comparison with similar maintenance operations on traditional computer networks. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd