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Mobile Edge Computing Architecture
The role of MEC in the Internet of Things
Dario Sabella, Alessandro Vaillant Pekka Kuure, Uwe Rauschenbach Fabio Giust
TIM, Telecom Italia group, Nokia Networks NEC Laboratories Europe
Italy Finland, Germany Germany
AbstractMobile Edge Computing (MEC) is an emerging While 4G networks have been driven by the need to deliver
technology currently recognized as key enabler for 5G networks. video contents, the next years will also witness the explosion of
Being compatible with current 4G networks, MEC will address Machine-to-machine (M2M) connections [1] due to the
also many key use cases for 5G system, motivated by the massive increase of IoT traffic and services, that will be dominated by
diffusion of Internet of Things (IoT). This paper aims to give a several new vertical business segments [2], e.g. automotive and
tutorial on MEC technology and an overview of the MEC mobility, factories of the future (sometimes referred also as
framework and architecture recently defined by ETSI MEC ISG Industry 4.0), healthcare, media and entertainment, energy.
standardization group. We provide some examples of MEC
deployment, with special reference to IoT use cases, since With this view, the emerging scenario (depicted in Fig. 1)
Internet of Things is recognized as a main driver for 5G. Finally will be characterized by heterogeneous terminals and devices,
we discuss main benefits and challenges for MEC toward 5G. and also contents and traffic types (including legacy voice and
data traffics, but also those generated by emerging M2M
Keywords 5G, Mobile Edge Computing, MEC, IoT connections), all with different Quality-of-Experience (QoE)
requirements. In this 5G scenario, both research projects and
I. INTRODUCTION standardization bodies are currently considering MEC with
The path toward defining 5G systems encompasses all the increasing attention, especially as a key enabler for new
requirements of the communication network to cope with emerging use cases that will need to be properly managed at
traffic needs, so as to allow operators to offer services and the edge of the network.
provide contents efficiently and profitably.
MEC technology, recently introduced by ETSI Industry and data centers close to the radio network (e.g. located at
Specification Group (ISG) on Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) aggregation points). Operators can open their RAN edge to
[3] (i.e. ETSI MEC ISG), offers cloud-computing capabilities authorized third-parties, allowing them to deploy innovative
within the RAN and an IT service environment at the edge of applications and services towards mobile subscribers,
the mobile network, close to mobile subscribers. This enterprises and vertical segments, flexibly and rapidly. MEC
environment is characterized by ultra-low latency, high will bring significant benefits not only for Operators but also
bandwidth, and real-time access to radio network information third parties and OTT (Over-The-Top) companies that will
that can be leveraged by applications and QoE optimization have the opportunity to run their applications at the edge of the
platforms. Edge may refer to both the base stations mobile network, close to mobile subscribers (with related new
themselves (e.g. eNodeB, Radio Network Controller, etc), business opportunities). Finally, also to the common consumer
will gain the possibility to experience improved performances
and new services offered by the MEC system.
The content of this paper reflects the work done by the
authors as members of the ETSI MEC ISG and their own
expertise gained in the field of Mobile Edge Computing. The
aim of the present paper is thus to provide an (hopefully useful)
overview of MEC framework and architecture (section 2) as
they have been currently introduced by ETSI, together with a
description of some selected MEC use cases especially relevant
for IoT (in section 3). Then we will give some examples of
MEC deployment in section 4 and discuss in section 5 the main
benefits and challenges for MEC in the view of future 5G
systems. Finally section 6 will conclude the paper.