MEC , literally and intuitively understood, is a thing that is used in mobile communication systems (Mobile), edge nodes (Edge), and undertakes a large number of computing tasks (Computer).
边缘计算技术（Mobile Edge Computing）It is the product of ICT integration, combined with increasingly mature technologies such as SDN/NFV, big data, and artificial intelligence. When 5G networks become the key infrastructure for digital transformation in various industries, MEC has also become a key technology to support operators in their 5G network transformation. To meet business development needs such as high-definition video, VR/AR, industrial Internet, and Internet of Vehicles. As a representative of emerging IT technologies, MEC finally has a foothold in the network of telecom operators.
Mobile communication system (Mobile) : When we use a mobile phone to make calls, send text messages, and surf the Internet, it is called mobile communication. It does not count as a network cable at home, because there is a network cable, and it does not count as a cafe using Wi-Fi to access the Internet, because Wi-Fi also needs to be used. Connect to the network cable to access the Internet.
Edge node (Edge) : This thing is deployed very close to the user. In technical terms, it is deployed near the base station.
Undertake a large number of computing tasks (Computer) : This is the simplest, it is the server.
所以MEC从最简单的角度来看，就是部署在移动通信系统的基站附近的服务器。
Why should there be MEC?
This starts with the mobile communication system. In a traditional mobile communication system, if you want to surf the Internet, the electromagnetic signal emitted by your mobile phone will first be received by the antenna of the base station, and then converted into a digital signal in the base station. Telecom equipment traces back to the core network level by level, and then forwards your request to a specific application server through multiple routes.
In the era when the network speed is still very low and the network performance requirements are still very low, this layer-by-layer forwarding mode is naturally OK, but in a blink of an eye, 5G is coming. 5G has several core rhetoric: ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-high density, and ultra-low latency. What does this mean? In short, what the mobile network has to carry will be dozens or hundreds of times what it used to be, and it can't be delayed.
For example, the principle of unmanned car driving is very simple: the camera on the car shoots video, the server analyzes the road conditions in the video in real time and sends it back to the car in real time. But if it is still forwarded layer by layer like before, then it is estimated that no one will dare to ride in this unmanned car? Why? By the time the steering information is transmitted back to the steering wheel, the car may have crashed.
There are two ways to solve this problem , either to strengthen the capabilities of the network, or to strengthen the capabilities of the front end . The arrival of 5G itself has greatly enhanced the capabilities of the network, but the network has certain uncertainties and is easily disturbed. Therefore, we cannot put all our treasures on certain lines of the network, and the front-end capabilities must also be strengthened.
To strengthen the front end, one is to enhance the processing capability of the camera . Many manufacturers are already doing this. For example, the MPU and VPU promoted by some giants are to add a small processor behind the camera lens. But no matter what, the capability of this kind of small processor is limited after all, and if you want to take big things, you can use hard goods such as Xeon, so another method of front-end enhancement comes: MEC.
The most common MEC deployment (a typical MEC server deployment method)
The most common MEC deployment is to associate a general-purpose x86 server with the base station to handle urgent and massive processing tasks that need to be processed in the base station. Still taking unmanned vehicles as an example, after the video signal captured by the camera is received by the base station, it will be directly processed in the MEC server, and the driving situation will be adjusted according to the rules, while the remote server will perform tasks such as remote driving and rule update. .
In addition to unmanned vehicles, there are currently a large number of fast computing new services such as AR, VR, high-definition live broadcast, video surveillance, drones, etc., all of which are extremely sensitive to bandwidth and delay. And MEC is to use cheap x86 servers to assist expensive communication components to enhance their capabilities.
Advantages of MECs
- Network and business collaboration, realize differentiated customization, flexible routing, and create low-latency, high-bandwidth intelligent connections;
- Collaboration between cloud and edge capabilities, extending cloud service boundaries, improving cloud service quality, and creating a convenient and ubiquitous cloud;
- Provide a new service based on "connection + computing", with connection as the entry point, flexible combination of computing, capabilities, and applications, and break through business boundaries.
MEC application scenarios
