Introducing mobile edge computing capabilities through distributed 5G Cloud Enabled Small Cells

Current trends in broadband mobile networks are addressed towards the placement of different capabilities at the edge of the mobile network in a centralised way. On one hand, the split of the eNB between baseband processing units and remote radio headers makes it possible to process some of the protocols in centralised premises, likely with virtualised resources. On the other hand, mobile edge computing makes use of processing and storage capabilities close to the air interface in order to deploy optimised services with minimum delay. The confluence of both trends is a hot topic in the definition of future 5G networks. The full centralisation of both technologies in cloud data centres imposes stringent requirements to the fronthaul connections in terms of throughput and latency. Therefore, all those cells with limited network access would not be able to offer these types of services. This paper proposes a solution for these cases, based on the placement of processing and storage capabilities close to the remote units, which is especially well suited for the deployment of clusters of small cells. The proposed cloud-enabled small cells include a highly efficient microserver with a limited set of virtualised resources offered to the cluster of small cells. As a result, a light data centre is created and commonly used for deploying centralised eNB and mobile edge computing functionalities. The paper covers the proposed architecture, with special focus on the integration of both aspects, and possible scenarios of application.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A cloud-enabled small cell architecture in 5G networks for broadcast/multicast services

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.The evolution of 5G suggests that communication networks become sufficiently flexible to handle a wide variety of network services from various domains. The virtualization of small cells as envisaged by 5G, allows enhanced mobile edge computing capabilities, thus enabling network service deployment and management near the end user. This paper presents a cloud-enabled small cell architecture for 5G networks developed within the 5G-ESSENCE project. This paper also presents the conformity of the proposed architecture to the evolving 5G radio resource management architecture. Furthermore, it examines the inclusion of an edge enabler to support a variety of virtual network functions in 5G networks. Next, the improvement of specific key performance indicators in a public safety use case is evaluated. Finally, the performance of a 5G enabled evolved multimedia broadcast multicast services service is evaluated.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

C-V2X Communications for the Support of a Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) Use Case, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2021, nr 2

Rapid expansion of 5G affects a number of sectors, including vehicular communications relying on cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS). More specifically, in the context of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), a particular emphasis is placed on modern cellular V2X (C-V2X) technologies aiming to further improve road safety. This work originates from the detailed scope of the ongoing 5G-DRIVE research project promoting cooperation between the EU and China, with the aim of demonstrating IoV services that rely on vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications. With the C-V2X approach serving as a point of departure, we analyze and describe a specific green light-optimized speed advisory (GLOSA) use case, for which we provide a detailed descriptive framework, a proposed architectural framework for trials, as well as specific KPIs for the joint assessment of trials between the EU and China. We also discuss the context for performance test procedures to be conducted as part of the intended trials. GLOSA provides end-users with short-term information on upcoming traffic light status to optimize traffic flows, help prevent speed limit violations, improve fuel efficiency, and reduce pollutio

Multimedia Content Distribution over Next-Generation Heterogeneous Networks Featuring a Service Architecture of Sliced Resources

Part 5: First Intelligent Innovative Ways for Video-to-Video Communication in Modern Smart Cities Workshop (IIVC 2012)International audienceRecent advancements of IP networks pave the way for Over-the-Top (OTT) applications. Evolved telecom platforms provide revenue potentials via Service Gateways (APIs) on top of VoIP/RCS (IMS), Machine Type Communication (MTC) and Smart Bit pipe approaches. QoS is achieved through over-provisioning in today’s access and core networks since there are no flexible mechanisms that are available for end-users to influence the QoS level. Processes for user-demanded and operator-controlled QoS management as well as mechanisms for applications signaling their requirements on the data path into the network are far from being adequate. Novel approaches regarding end-to-end inter-domain flow-control architectures, i.e. network slicing, as well as machine-to-machine (M2M) virtualization platforms that handle such functions as device/communication management, session management and bearer and charging management are emerging promising enhanced multimedia communications and efficient utilization of network resources. They promote cloud services and they integrate the computer word into next generation telecommunications

The Impact of IPv6 on Video-to-Video and Mobile Video Communications

Part 5: First Intelligent Innovative Ways for Video-to-Video Communication in Modern Smart Cities Workshop (IIVC 2012)International audienceNew technologies, viewing paradigms and content distribution approaches are about to take the TV/video services industry by storm. Five emerging trends are observable, among which is the worldwide deployment of IP Version 6 (IPv6), that are all related to the next-generation delivery of entertainment-quality video and can be capitalized upon by progressive service providers, telcos, cable operators, and ISPs. This work aims at exploring the IPv6-based evolving trends and offering practical suggestions of how it could support effective growth of video-to-video and mobile video communications. It also addresses an overview of IPv6; the rapid expansion of video-based solutions in the ICT market sector; IPv6 advantages for enhanced video communications as well as QoS issues from the use of IPv6 and IPv6 multicast approaches

Optimal Video Delivery in Mobile Networks Using a Cache-Accelerated Multi Area eMBMS Architecture

Part 1: IIVC WorkshopInternational audienceLong-Term Evolution (LTE) evolved into enhanced Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (eMBMS) that features improved perfomance, higher and more flexible LTE bit rates, Single Frequency Network (SFN) operations and carrier configuration flexibility. Multiple eMBMS service areas allow for efficient spectrum utilization in the context of mobile Content-Delivery-Networks (CDNs) as well as for delivering broadcast and push media over modern broadband networks. This paper intends to highlight novel service architectures for efficient content delivery. Content caching is a widely used technique in the networking industry that brings content closer to end-users improving, thus, servive performance and latency. Next generation wireless networks use edge located cache as well as core located cache in order to reduce traffic between the gateway and the internet and make the response of mobile network faster. This is referred to as hierarchical/distributed caching. Dimensioning of individual scenario-based traffic models for health care, museum virtual tours and interactive educational use cases in the context of the LiveCity European Research Project is attempted in this work. ON/OFF source models featuring state dependent active and inactive periods are used in order to describe multi-threaded resource transmissions. A group of chain ON/OFF models holds the parameters of the basic services and defines cache requirements. An architecture that associates distributed cache deployed at eMBMS Gateways per service area is proposed in order to reduce backhaul traffic. A simple algorithm that determines the optimal cache size in a mixture of chain ON/OFF modeled services is presented