Multi-access edge computing (MEC), formerly mobile edge computing, is an
ETSI
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, not-for-profit, standardization organization in the field of information and communications. ETSI supports the development and testing of global technical standard ...
-defined
network architecture concept that enables
cloud computing capabilities and an IT service environment at the
edge of the
cellular network
A cellular network or mobile network is a communication network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless. The network is distributed over land areas called "cells", each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver (typically thre ...
and, more in general at the edge of any network. The basic idea behind MEC is that by running applications and performing related processing tasks closer to the cellular customer, network congestion is reduced and applications perform better. MEC technology is designed to be implemented at the
cellular base stations or other edge nodes, and enables flexible and rapid deployment of new applications and services for customers. Combining elements of information technology and telecommunications networking, MEC also allows cellular operators to open their
radio access network (RAN) to authorized third parties, such as application developers and content providers.
Technical standards for MEC are being developed by the
European Telecommunications Standards Institute, which has produced a technical white paper about the concept.
Distributed computing in the RAN
MEC provides a
distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content close to cellular subscribers, for faster response time. Applications can also be exposed to real-time
radio access network (RAN) information.
The key element is the MEC application server, which is integrated at the RAN element. This server provides computing resources, storage capacity, connectivity and access to RAN information. It supports a
multitenancy run-time and hosting environment for applications. The
virtual appliance applications are delivered as packaged operating system
virtual machine (VM) images or containers incorporating operating systems and applications. The platform also provides a set of
middleware application and infrastructure services.
Application software can be provided from equipment vendors, service providers and third-parties.
Deployment
The MEC application server can be deployed at the macro base station
EnodeB that is part of an
LTE
LTE may refer to:
Science and technology
* LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a telephone and mobile broadband standard
** LTE Advanced, an enhancement
*** LTE Advanced Pro
* Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers produced by Compaq
* ...
cellular network, or at the
Radio Network Controller (RNC) that is part of a
3G cellular network and at a multi-technology cell aggregation site. The multi-technology cell aggregation site can be located indoors or outdoors.
Business and technical benefits
By using mobile edge computing technology, a cellular operator can efficiently deploy new services for specific customers or classes of customers. The technology also reduces the signal load of the core network,
and can host applications and services in a less costly way. It also collects data about storage, network bandwidth, CPU utilization, etc., for each application or service deployed by a third party. Application developers and content providers can take advantage of close proximity to cellular subscribers and real-time RAN information.
MEC has been created using open standards and
application programming interface
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how t ...
s (APIs), using common programming models, relevant tool chains and
software development kits to encourage and expedite the development of new applications for the new MEC environment.
Applications
Since MEC architecture has only recently been proposed, there are as yet very few applications that have adopted this architecture. However, many case studies have been proposed in recent articles.
[ Some of the notable applications in mobile edge computing are computational offloading, content delivery, mobile big data analytics, edge video caching, ]collaborative computing
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
, connected cars, smart venues, smart enterprises, healthcare, smartgrids, service function chaining, indoor positioning
An indoor positioning system (IPS) is a network of devices used to locate people or objects where Global Positioning System, GPS and other satellite technologies lack precision or fail entirely, such as inside multistory buildings, airports, alley ...
, etc.
Current uses
Some applications which incorporate MEC were made available in 2015.[ For example, active device location tracking allows operators to track active terminal equipment, independent of ]Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
devices. This is based on third-party geolocation algorithms within an application hosted on the MEC application server.
Another use is distributed content and Domain Name System (DNS) caching, which reduces server load and speeds up delivery of data to customers.
The first commercial product available at a bigger scale is AWS Wavelength. Customers are able to run their applications on AWS services in the edge of a 4G/5G network of a specific telco.
Technical standards
Technical standards for MEC are being developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), which created a new Industry Specification Group in 2014 for this purpose. The participating companies are: Allot Communications Systems Ltd, ASTRI, AT&T, B-Com, Cadzow Communications Consulting, Ceragon Networks, Cisco Systems Belgium, ETRI, Eurecom, Fujitsu Laboratories of Europe, Hewlett-Packard France, Huawei TechnologiesFrance, Huawei Technologies(UK) Co. Ltd, IBM Europe, Intel Corporation, ISMB, InterDigital Communication, ITRI, JCP-Connect, Juniper, Motorola Mobility Ltd, National Technique Assistance Centre, NEC Europe Ltd, Nokia Solutions and Networks, NTT Corporation, NTT Docomo, Orange, PoLTE, PeerApp Ltd, PT Portugal SGPS SA, Quortus Limited, Red Hat Ltd, Saguna Networks, Samsung Electronics R&D Institute UK Ltd, Sony Europe Ltd, Sony Mobile Communications, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telekom Austria AG, Turk Telekom, Vasona Networks, Verizon, Viavi Solutions, Vodafone Group Services plc, Xilinx Inc., YAANA Ltd, and ZTE Corporation.
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Insun Jang, Sukjin Choo, Myeongsu Kim, Sangheon Pack, György Dán
"The Software-Defined Vehicular Cloud: A New Level of Sharing the Road"
''IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine'', vol. 12, no. 2, Jun. 2017 DOI 10.1109/MVT.2017.2665718,
External links
ETSI portal for MEC ISG
Introductory Technical White Paper
MEC Executive Brief
ETSI MEC Proposal Terms of Reference
Mobile telecommunications networks