1. Defining the Network of the Future
5G is an umbrella term for technologies and approaches to meet extreme capacity and performance demands in future networks. The phrase "lag-free, gigabit experience" sums up user expectations the industry is eager to meet. The two main standardization bodies, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), have now launched projects related to 5G.
Regarding 5G, what expectations do users have?
The key points to be realized in the 5G network are: the data rate of each device can reach 20Gbps, the radio delay should be less than 1ms, and the terminal positioning with an accurate range within 1 meter, etc. 5G will provide continuity of service in densely populated areas, and it will support 20 million user devices and more than a trillion reliable Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine connections.
5G-related technologies
The design of 5G networks will revolve around virtualization and programmability of networks and services. Emerging technologies such as software-defined networking (SDN), network function virtualization (NFV), mobile edge computing (MEC) and fog computing (FC) will drive the transition to 5G. SDN and NFV provide tools that enhance network flexibility. These technologies can program defined network functions and eventually migrate key components of the network to cloud services. In the next section, we will focus on MEC, the subject of this article.
2. Mobile Edge Computing
What is MEC?
In recent years, with the rapid development of cloud computing technology, the correlation between cloud computing and mobile networks has spiraled upward. Social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter, content from YouTube and Netflix, and navigation tools from Google Maps are deployed on the cloud. Not only that, people are increasingly relying on mobile devices to calculate and handle relatively complex transactions. To realize such a function and complete such a large and complex task, it is very difficult for individuals and enterprises alone. And the equipment and services are expensive. Deploying large-scale applications and server-side programs to the cloud can not only achieve better performance, but also extend the battery life of personal devices.
For this goal, mobile operators are researching mobile edge computing (MEC), which integrates computing, storage and network resources with base stations and hosts them at the edge of the network. It is thus used for computationally intensive and latency-sensitive applications such as augmented reality and image processing.
Splitting mobile edge computing and applications
Mobile edge computing provides a distributed computing environment that can be used to deploy applications and services, store and process mobile users' personal data with low latency and high accuracy. The application can reasonably allocate the functions executed on the local side and the functions executed on the cloud. When splitting applications, the mobile edge cloud will process the functions that need to be completed on the local side with low latency and high bandwidth.
The key part of MEC server platform
MEC lies in its commercial application server. The server is integrated with the base station. MEC servers provide computing resources, storage capacity, and interconnectivity provided by traditional cloud infrastructure. It is used to access user traffic and wireless network information, and application providers can use the MEC server to customize other applications and services to enhance user experience. It is used for real-time analytics and machine intelligence, serving queries to devices with response times below 100 milliseconds. Offline, batch processing functions, data-intensive tasks, and high-latency tasks can be hosted to larger clouds for better service support.
The Radio Access Network (RAN) has long served as the "bridge" between voice calls and data transmission. In the 5G network, operators can cover the radio access network through distributed edge cloud computing, so as to realize the intelligence of data traffic. By virtualizing the radio access network edge, mobile network operators can deploy multiple third-party users at base stations. Application providers can properly partition applications at the edge. First, applications get ultra-low latency (commonly known as zero latency) and high bandwidth. Second, the Radio Network Information Service (RNIS) module of the MEC server provides it with real-time network information of load, user bandwidth, and user location. In this way, mobile operators can reduce the load on the core network and reduce congestion, while gaining greater benefits in the edge network.
Managing Edge Clouds From an application service provider's perspective, deploying applications across multiple clouds and managing distributed applications is a difficult problem to solve. For providers, it is very difficult to deal with the coordination between the interface provided by a single cloud service provider and the interface used by the network provider to manage the program. A common platform for application deployment and management is needed to optimize resource usage, ensure program performance and control costs.
3. Summary
Combining SDN and NFV, MEC mobile edge computing is very important in achieving low latency, high bandwidth and agility. In order to keep up with the development of the times, the multi-cloud application delivery platform can efficiently integrate resources from edge clouds and large clouds, and provide the best user experience according to real-time network conditions.
It is believed that under the general trend of 5G dominance in our country, combined with the current trend of artificial intelligence, it will be further developed. For example, the Internet of Things, Internet of Vehicles and terminal integration of the Internet of Everything. A strategic plan to enable broader cloud deployments. Let people feel more real-time interconnection, light and fast connection and enjoy the smart life of the Internet of Things on the existing basis.