Edge Cloud Networks Research Articles

Optimized IoT Service Chain Implementation in Edge Cloud Platform: A Deep Learning Framework

Internet of Things (IoT) services have been implemented for several network applications from smart cities to rural areas. However, there are many barriers to provide an efficient solution for the IoT service deployment underlying innovation SDN/NFV-based technologies. First, though an IoT service can flexibly deploy via virtual network functions (VNFs), a deployment scheme needs to solve the joint routing and resource allocation problem, which becomes more difficult than the traditional centralized cloud/datacenter solution due to distributed resources in the edge-cloud network. In addition, due to uncertain workloads in IoT services, static optimization solutions may not deal with uncompleted knowledge of the entire input, which is often given by assumptions, but unrealistic in current provisioning approaches. Aiming to address these issues, we model an online mechanism for the dynamic IoT service chain deployment to optimize the operational cost in a finite horizon. We propose a JOint Routing and Placement problem for IoT service chain (JORP) that can dynamically scale in/out the number of VNF instances. We then propose a learning method to efficiently solve JORP based on branch-and-bound (BnB). Our proposed learning mechanism can intelligently imitate the branching/pruning actions of BnB, and remove unlikely solutions in the search space based on the deep neural network model to improve the performance. In that respect, we take an intensive simulation that illustrates the promising result of our proposed deep learning method compared to BnB and the greedy baseline in terms of the performance of the algorithm and the operational cost reduction.

Energy Efficient UAV-Enabled Mobile Edge Computing for IoT Devices: A Review

With the emergence of computation-intensive and delay-sensitive applications, such as face recognition, virtual reality, augmented reality, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices; Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) allows the IoT devices to offload their heavy computation tasks to nearby edge cloud network rather than to compute the tasks locally. Therefore, it helps to reduce the energy consumption and execution delay in the ground mobile users. Flying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) integrated with the MEC server play a key role in 5G and future wireless communication networks to provide spatial coverage and further computational services to the small, battery-powered and energy-constrained devices. The UAV-enabled MEC (U-MEC) system has flexible mobility and more computational capability compared to the terrestrial MEC network. They support line-of-sight (LoS) links with the users offloading their tasks to the UAVs. Hence, users can transmit more data without interference by mitigating small-scale fading and shadowing effects. UAVs resources and flight time are very limited due to size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints. Therefore, energy-aware communication and computation resources are allocated in order to minimize energy consumption.In this paper, a brief survey on U-MEC networks is presented. It includes the brief introduction regarding UAVs and MEC technology. The basic terminologies and architectures used in U-MEC networks are also defined. Moreover, mobile edge computation offloading working, different access schemes used during computation offloading technique are explained. Resources that are needed to be optimized in U-MEC systems are depicted with different optimization problem, and solution types. Furthermore, to guide future work in this area of research, future research directions are outlined. At the end, challenges and open issues in this domain are also summarized.

Task Offloading and Resource Scheduling in Hybrid Edge-Cloud Networks

Computation-intensive mobile applications are explosively increasing and cause computation overload for smart mobile devices (SMDs). With the assistance of mobile edge computing and mobile cloud computing, SMDs can rent computation resources and offload the computation-intensive applications to edge clouds and remote clouds, which reduces the application completion delay and energy consumption of SMDs. In this paper, we consider the mobile applications with task call graphs and investigate the task offloading and resource scheduling problem in hybrid edge-cloud networks. Due to the interdependency of tasks, time-varying wireless channels, and stochastic available computation resources in the hybrid edge-cloud networks, it is challenging to make task offloading decisions and schedule computation frequencies to minimize the weighted sum of energy, time, and rent cost (ETRC). To address this issue, we propose two efficient algorithms under different conditions of system information. Specifically, with full system information, the task offloading and resource scheduling decisions are determined based on semidefinite relaxation and dual decomposition methods. With partial system information, we propose a deep reinforcement learning framework, where the future system information is inferred by long short-term memory networks. The discrete offloading decisions and continuous computation frequencies are learned by a modified deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm. Extensive simulations evaluate the convergence performance of ETRC with various system parameters. Simulation results also validate the superiority of the proposed task offloading and resource scheduling algorithms over baseline schemes.

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Collaborative Computation Offloading on Internet of Vehicles

With the increase of Internet of vehicles (IoVs) traffic, the contradiction between a large number of computing tasks and limited computing resources has become increasingly prominent. Although many existing studies have been proposed to solve this problem, their main consideration is to achieve different optimization goals in the case of edge offloading in static scenarios. Since realistic scenarios are complicated and generally time‐varying, these studies in static scenes are imperfect. In this paper, we consider a collaborative computation offloading in a time‐varying edge‐cloud network, and we formulate an optimization problem with considering both delay constraints and resource constraints, aiming to minimize the long‐term system cost. Since the set of feasible solutions to the problem is nonconvex, and the complexity of the problem is very large, we propose a Q‐learning‐based approach to solve the optimization problem. In addition, due to the dimensional catastrophes, we further propose a DQN‐based approach to solve the optimization problem. Finally, by comparing our two proposed algorithms with typical algorithms, the simulation results show that our proposed approaches achieve better performance. Under the same conditions, by comparing our two proposed algorithms with typical algorithms, the simulation results show that our proposed Q‐learning‐based method reduces the system cost by about 49% and 42% compared to typical algorithms. And in the same case, compared with the classical two schemes, our proposed DQN‐based scheme reduces the system cost by 62% and 57%.

Virtual Network Function Service Provisioning in MEC Via Trading Off the Usages Between Computing and Communication Resources

Mobile edge computing (MEC) has emerged as a promising technology that offers resource-intensive yet delay-sensitive applications from the edge of mobile networks. With the emergence of complicated and resource-hungry mobile applications, offloading user tasks to cloudlets of nearby mobile edge-cloud networks is becoming an important approach to leverage the processing capability of mobile devices, reduce mobile device energy consumptions, and improve experiences of mobile users. In this article we first study the provisioning of virtualized network function (VNF) services for user requests in an MEC network, where each user request has a demanded data packet rate with a specified network function service requirement, and different user requests need different services that are represented by virtualized network functions instantiated in cloudlets. We aim to maximize the number of user request admissions while minimizing their admission cost, where the request admission cost consists of the computing cost on instantiations of requested VNF instances and the data packet traffic processing of requests in their VNF instances, and the communication cost of routing data packet traffic of requests between users and the cloudlets hosting their requested VNF instances. We study the joint VNF instance deployment and user requests assignment in MEC, by explicitly exploring a non-trivial usage tradeoff between different types of resources. To this end, we first formulate the cost minimization problem that admits all requests by assuming that there is sufficient computing resource in MEC to accommodate the requested VNF instances of all requests, for which we formulate an Integer Linear Programming solution and two efficient heuristic algorithms. We then deal with the problem under the computing resource constraint. We term this problem as the throughput maximization problem by admitting as many as requests, subject to computing resource capacity on each cloudlet, for which we formulate an ILP solution when the problem size is small; otherwise, we devise efficient algorithms for it. We finally evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms through experimental simulations. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms are promising. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to explicitly explore the usage tradeoff between computing and communication resources in the admissions of user requests in MEC through introducing a novel load factor concept to minimize the request admission cost and maximize the network throughput.

A Novel Approach for Service Function Chain Dynamic Orchestration in Edge Clouds

Network function virtualization (NFV) and mobile edge computing (MEC) are two of the promising technologies that are expected to play a critical role in mobile edge cloud networks, thus satisfying ambitious quality of experience (QoE) requirements of the Internet of things (IoT) applications. In MEC-NFV system, a service function chain (SFC) consists of an ordered set of virtual network functions (VNFs) that are connected based on the business logic of service providers. However, the inefficiency of the SFC orchestration process is one major problem due to the dynamic nature of mobile edge cloud networks and abundance of IoT terminals. In this letter, a quantum machine learning (QML)-based scheme is proposed as solution that can handle complex and dynamic SFC orchestration in mobile edge cloud networks. Simulation results show that our proposal significantly provides more than 8-fold reduction of run time compared to the Viterbi algorithm, and the end-to-end delay is only about 1.1 times of the exact solution.

A joint optimization scheme of content caching and resource allocation for internet of vehicles in mobile edge computing

In a high-speed free-flow scenario, a joint optimization scheme for content caching and resource allocation is proposed based on mobile edge computing in Internet of Vehicles. Vehicle trajectory prediction provides the basis for the realization of vehicle-cloud collaborative cache. By pre-caching the business data of requesting vehicles to edge cloud networks and oncoming vehicles, requesting vehicles can obtain data through V2V link and V2I link at the same time, which reduces the data acquisition delay. Therefore, this paper considers the situation where bandwidth of V2I and V2V link and the total amount of edge cloud caches are limited. Then, the bandwidth and cache joint allocation strategy to minimize the weighted average delay of data acquisition is studied. An edge cooperative cache algorithm based on deep deterministic policy gradient is further developed. Different from Q-learning and deep reinforcement learning algorithms, the proposed cache algorithm can be well applied to variable continuous bandwidth allocation action space. Besides, it effectively improves the convergence speed by using interactive iteration of value function and strategy function. Finally, the simulation results of vehicle driving path at the start and stop are obtained by analyzing real traffic data. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve better performance than several other newer cooperative cache schemes.

Multimedia Resources Purchase and Distribution Optimization for 5G Edge Cloud Networks

The fifth generation of mobile communication networks (5G) is an emerging paradigm that can accommodate more audiovisual entertainment video sites from mobile applications and the video quality can be greatly improved by reducing latency. Due to the limited multimedia resources and insufficient bandwidth, it is of great importance to allocate multimedia resources reasonably and enhance user experience. Although researchers have proposed many resources allocation mechanisms, most of them focus only on maximizing system efficiency. Considering system efficiency, transmission delay and the profit of service providers, an optimal multimedia resources allocation algorithm in the 5G edge cloud networks is proposed from the perspective of service providers. Based on the Lyapunov stochastic profit maximization algorithm, system efficiency, transmission delay and the profit of service providers are regarded as performance indicators and the multimedia resources allocation problem is transformed into queue stability issues. Finally, rigorous analyses and simulation experiments show the performance of Lyapunov stochastic profit maximization algorithm in multimedia resources allocation.

A Novel Load Balancing and Low Response Delay Framework for Edge-Cloud Network Based on SDN

For the cloud computing based on software-defined networks (SDNs), a larger amount of data is collected to cloud for analysis, which will cause the larger amount of redundancy data and longer service response time due to the capacity-limited Internet. To solve this problem, a novel service orchestration and data aggregation framework (SODA) is proposed, which can orchestrate data as services and aggregate data packets to reduce data redundancy and service response delay. In SODA, the network is divided into three layers. 1) Data centers layer (DCL). Data centers (DCs) release software with a specific function to all devices in the network, devices orchestrate data as services and aggregate data packets using software to reduce service response delay. 2) Middle routing layer (MRL). The routing path of data packets in this layer is adjusted according to the correlation of data packets and routing distance. The correlation of data packets is higher and routing distance is short, the probability that data packets are transmitted along the same routing path is higher to reduce redundancy data. 3) Vehicle network layer (VNL). Mobile vehicles are used to transmit data packets and services among devices. A series of experiments and simulation is conducted. The results illustrate that the proposed scheme has better performance compared with the traditional scheme.

Task Offloading with Network Function Requirements in a Mobile Edge-Cloud Network

Pushing the cloud frontier to the network edge close to mobile users has attracted tremendous interest not only from cloud operators but also from network service providers. In particular, the deployment of cloudlets in metropolitan area networks enables network service providers to provide low-latency services to mobile users through implementing their specified virtualized network functions (VNFs) while meeting their Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements. In this paper, we formulate a novel task offloading problem in a mobile edge-cloud network, where each offloading task requests a specified network function with a tolerable delay. We aim to maximize the number of requests admitted while minimizing the operational cost of admitted requests within a finite time horizon, through either sharing existing VNF instances or creating new VNF instances in cloudlets. We first show that the problem is NP-hard, and then devise an efficient online algorithm for the problem by reducing it to a series of minimum weight maximum matching problems. Considering dynamic changes of task offloading request patterns over time, we further develop an effective prediction mechanism for new VNF instance creations and idle VNF instance releases to further lower the operational cost of the network service provider. Also, we devise an online algorithm with a competitive ratio for a special case of the problem where the delay requirements of requests are negligible. We finally evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms through experimental simulations. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithms are promising.

NPMA: A Novel Privacy-Preserving Mutual Authentication in TMIS for Mobile Edge-Cloud Architecture.

Mobile Edge-Cloud Network is a new network structure after fog-cloud computing, where service and data computing are scattered in the most logical, nearby and efficient place. It provides better services than fog-cloud computing with better performance in reasonably low cost way and allows users to eliminate numerous limitations inherent in fog-cloud computing, although it inherits those security-privacy issues from fog-cloud computing. A novel privacy-preserving mutual authentication in TMIS for mobile Edge-Cloud architecture (abbreviated to NPMA) is constructed in this paper. NPMA scheme not only mitigates some weaknesses of fog-cloud computing, but has other advantages. First, NPMA scheme supports patients(edge-servers) anonymity and forward-backward untraceability (traceability, when needed), since their identities are hidden in two distinct dynamic anonyms and a static one and only the trusted center can recover their real identities, when needed. Second, each edge-server shares a secret value, which realizes authentication with extremely low computional cost in authentication phase. Finally, NPMA scheme is proven safely against passive and active attacks under elliptic curve computable Diffie-Hellman problem (ECDHP) assumption in random oracle model. Hence, it achieves the required security properties and outperforms prior approaches in terms of energy and computational costs.

Deterministic Dynamic Networks (DDN)

Today's network infrastructure evolves into two seemingly opposite directions: cloudification centralizes functions that used to be distributed for economies of scale, at the expense of latency, while latency-constrained applications are surging. This calls for a new architecture capable of distributed computing: The Edge Cloud network. Future 5G applications will impose strict latency and dynamicity requirements on the Edge Cloud, in intra- and inter-data center networks. The Edge Cloud needs a network infrastructure able to deliver: low latency (~microseconds), deterministic data delivery in time (~nanoseconds jitter), and dynamic reconfiguration (~milliseconds) between objects (antennas, robots) in data centers or across data centers, through a fronthaul network. In this paper, we propose, implement, and demonstrate a deterministic dynamic network based Edge Cloud network. On a real-time testbed, we achieve network slicing, low, deterministic latency of only tens of microseconds per-application (per-flow), when competing technologies cannot provide per-flow guarantee. We also show that the network can be dynamically reconfigured at the millisecond timescale.

Optimized assignment patterns in Mobile Edge Cloud networks

Given an existing Mobile Edge Cloud (MEC) network including virtualization facilities of limited capacity, and a set of mobile Access Points (AP) whose data traffic demand changes over time, we aim at finding plans for assigning APs traffic to MEC facilities so that the demand of each AP is satisfied and MEC facility capacities are not exceeded, yielding high level of service to the users. Since demands are dynamic we allow each AP to be assigned to different MEC facilities at different points in time, accounting for suitable switching costs. We propose a general data-driven framework for our application including an optimization core, a data pre-processing module, and a validation module to test plans accuracy. Our optimization core entails a combinatorial problem that is a multi-period variant of the Generalized Assignment Problem: we design a Branch-and-Price algorithm that, although exact in nature, performs well also as a matheuristics when combined with early stopping. Extensive experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate that our approach is both computationally effective and accurate when employed for prescriptive analytics.

Hybrid Delay Optimization and Workload Assignment in Mobile Edge Cloud Networks

Nowadays, the usage of mobile devices is progressively increased. Until, delay sensitive applications (Augmented Reality, Online Banking and 3D Game) are required lower delay while executed in the mobile device. Mobile Cloud Computing provides a rich resource environment to the constrained-resource mobility to run above mentioned applications, but due to long distance between mobile user application and cloud server introduces hybrid delay (i.e., network delay and process delay). To cope with the hybrid delay in mobile cloud computing for delay sensitive applications, we have proposed novel hybrid delay task assignment (HDWA) algorithm. The preliminary objective of the HDWA is to run the application on the cloud server in an efficient way that minimizes the response time of the application. Simulation results show that proposed HDWA has better performance as compared to baseline approaches.

Performance Evaluation of Integrated Multi-Access Edge Computing and Fiber-Wireless Access Networks

With the widespread use of smart mobile devices, the exponential growth of mobile Internet traffic and newly emerging services, such as Internet of Things, virtual reality/augmented reality, and serious games, the network performance requirements for delay and bandwidth are increasing. The inherent long-distance propagation and possible network congestion of mobile cloud computing may lead to excessive latency, which cannot satisfy the new delay-sensitive mobile applications. The proximity of edge computing provides the possibility of low-latency access and raises increasing interest from non-mobile operators; therefore, edge computing faces a variety of access network technologies, including wired (fixed) and wireless (mobile) access. In this paper, we propose an integrated heterogeneous networking scheme for multi-access edge computing and fiber-wireless access networks that uses network virtualization to achieve the dynamic orchestration of the network, storage, and computing resources to meet diverse application demands. The global view and centralized control of the entire network and the unified scheduling of the resources in the scheme anticipate the convergence of various types of access networks and the edge cloud. The multipath transmission of the service flows is further combined as an instance of integrated edge cloud networking. An experimental testbed is established in the laboratory, and the performance of the multi-access edge computing and networking is evaluated to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the scheme. The results demonstrate that the scheme can effectively improve the network performance.

Mobile Edge Cloud Network Design Optimization

Major interest is currently given to the integration of clusters of virtualization servers, also referred to as ‘cloudlets’ or ‘edge clouds’, into the access network to allow higher performance and reliability in the access to mobile edge computing services. We tackle the edge cloud network design problem for mobile access networks. The model is such that the virtual machines (VMs) are associated with mobile users and are allocated to cloudlets. Designing an edge cloud network implies first determining where to install cloudlet facilities among the available sites, then assigning sets of access points, such as base stations to cloudlets, while supporting VM orchestration and considering partial user mobility information, as well as the satisfaction of service-level agreements. We present link-path formulations supported by heuristics to compute solutions in reasonable time. We qualify the advantage in considering mobility for both users and VMs as up to 20% less users not satisfied in their SLA with a little increase of opened facilities. We compare two VM mobility modes, bulk and live migration, as a function of mobile cloud service requirements, determining that a high preference should be given to live migration, while bulk migrations seem to be a feasible alternative on delay-stringent tiny-disk services, such as augmented reality support, and only with further relaxation on network constraints.