Deployment of MEC with Distributed Cloud in 4G

Network for 5G Success

Andika Hairuman Amalia Zahra I Gede Putra Kusuma Negara
Computer Science Department, BINUS Computer Science Department, BINUS Computer Science Department, BINUS
Graduate Program – Master of Graduate Program – Master of Graduate Program – Master of
Computer Science Computer Science Computer Science
Bina Nusantara University Bina Nusantara University Bina Nusantara University
Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract—The purpose of this paper is to understand why it

is recommended to start deploying Multi-Access Edge
Computing (MEC) as distributed cloud on 4G before 5G and
make success deployment without creating conflict with NFV as
part of digital transformation. MEC brings flexibility and agility
to meet the application demands of low latency, high reliability
with high scalability, bandwidth and battery savings. It explains
few reasons why MEC should be adopted before 5G deployment
and what would be the benefits for all the actors like operators
and public cloud service providers. MEC standardization,
architecture, framework and platform are designed by ETSI.
There are identified challenges and requirements related with
MEC along with the MEC use scenarios like AR/VR, IoT and
connected vehicles which can be fully supported by 4G and with Fig. 1. Mobile subscriptions by technology (billion) forecasted by Ericsson
5G to unlock the full potential of the use scenarios. MEC and presented in the Ericsson Mobility Report, released in June 2019.
offerings few deployment options which currently available on
4G and take that deployment model as a reference for MEC IoT devices will generate big amount of data on the
deployment on 5G with the migration option towards 5G. This internet [2] and most of the data would be processed with
paper provides the recommendations as key successes deploying distributed cloud at the network edge [3].
MEC on 4G and 5G and help the stakeholders understand how
to realize the MEC benefits.

Keywords—MEC, Distributed Cloud, MEC Deployment, MEC

use scenarios, 4G, 5G

I. INTRODUCTION
The research about MEC and 5G is important because
there are few countries in North America and North East Asia
and also Western Europe that already started to deploy 5G
Fig. 2. Examples of the estimated amounts of data that will be generated by
networks in 2019 and going for digital transformation with IoT devices. Cisco Global Cloud Index, 2014–2019.
NFV. Use scenarios of 5G and edge computing such as
autonomous vehicles, AR/VR, smart cities and smart The new use scenarios and services such AR/VR,
manufacturing will become a new mainstream. It needs to connected vehicles, smart education and manufacturing,
continue the research before going to large scale, finds out the remote medical surgery require low latency and having
potential use of the technology and get more insight for the distributed cloud in the network edges is one of the solutions
future applications. combined with mobile technology like 4G and 5G. Multi-
access edge computing (MEC), previously called mobile edge
In the 2nd quarter of 2019, Ericsson estimates around 1.9 computing, is the new paradigm that shift the computing
billion 5G users in 2024. 5G services would be available for functions for the user traffic from centralized cloud to the
20 percent of the global population in 2024. Mobile network distributed cloud in the network edge, closer to the end-user.
operators should build the distributed cloud today in 4G rather Mobile network congestion is a known global issue and MEC
than waiting for 5G [1]. can be the supporting solution because MEC provides low
latency, high bandwidth, and trusted computing and storage to
support new use cases like smart home, smart manufacturing,
augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) and many other interesting
use cases [4]. However, mobile network operators feel
uncertainty to monetize 5G network. With MEC, it is an
opportunity for mobile network operators to deliver the low
latency services in 4G before 5G networks deployment
because 4G is already available and integrating with so many

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mobile operators will be challenging for public cloud
providers like Amazon and Microsoft
MEC shares similar vision like edge computing, deployed
in the mobile network by processing data and have storage
capabilities near base station towers. MEC technology brings
the network traffic and computing of services closer to the
consumer, ensuring faster data processing, performed locally
instead of in a centralized cloud environment. Mobile
network operators started to adopt 5G technology while still
expanding their 4G network and MEC would be the key
success to realize the benefits of 5G to deliver better end-user Fig. 3. High level architecture of Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC).
experience when using cloud and IoT services. MEC provides the benefits for all the actors: [7] [8]:
II. MEC OVERVIEW 1) Mobile operators could enable any 3rd party like
application developers to access their RAN for deploying
MEC brings the flexibility and cloud agility closer to the applications and services with agility and flexibility. It is
end-users so it delivers the user applications demands of low a new revenue model for mobile operators.
latency, high reliability, bandwidth saving, battery life 2) More scalable for public cloud service providers with low
saving, high scalability and targeting mobile users. There are latency and high bandwidth by enabling IaaS at the
few reasons why MEC should be adopted even before 5G network edge.
deployment. MEC supports the deployment in 4G and 4G 3) Network equipment vendors can use the ETSI MEC
currently available in most of the places in the world. With standard to develop their MEC solution and craft the
carrier aggregation, 4G user can experience download speed solution with the unique offerings.
up to 1 Gbps, depends on the devices capability and it can be 4) Better user experience for the mobile users such as faster
used for many use scenarios like AR/VR and IoT. IoT also browsing experience, no lagging while playing online
can be served by 4G cells with its narrowband IoT and CAT- games, watching online video without experiencing
M1, it can be deployed in 4G in-band, guard band or even frequent stop supported by video caching, etc.
standalone. MEC can speed up the content and applications
reactiveness from the network edge. MEC has the value MEC allows the deployment of applications as software-
proposition for all stakeholders to work together and only object that can be used on virtualization base located in
complement the NFV technology. the network edge. There are 3 levels in MEC framework such
as mobile edge system level, host and networks level.
A. Differences between MEC and MCC
Despite the benefits of MEC, there are many drawbacks
such as limited storage capacity and computational power.
There are some differences between MEC and mobile cloud
computing (MCC) [5].
TABLE I. COMPARISON BETWEEN MEC AND MCC

B. MEC Architecture and Framework

ETSI producing standards for MEC with the assistance
and collaboration with OpenFog for API standards. The
infrastructure of MEC allows for a quicker reaction from end Fig. 4. MEC Framework [9].
users and devices while reducing costs significantly for low
bandwidth applications and saving core network load for The architecture and specification of ETSI MEC may
mobile data traffic. MEC introduces a new element device overlap with the existing solution of network equipment
called Local Breakout (LBO). LBO aims to transfer the load vendors. ETSI builds the MEC standard supported by many
and lower the end-to-end latency. It is a vital element of MEC network equipment vendors like Huawei and Nokia
[6]
. The main benefit of LBO is zero impact with the Networks and it is the most relevant initiative within telecom
performance when running multiple applications. LBO will space [10]. There are other network equipment vendors like
process the user traffic at the network edge and this will Ericsson who doesn’t eager to support ETSI MEC and
improve the user experience such eliminating lag and reduce preferred to go on NFV for the digital transformation.
the core network load.
 5G provides extreme speed, better battery life and also a
better connectivity with low latency than 4G. MEC will
enable at least four use case scenarios together and with 5G,
the end-user experience will be even better.

Fig. 5. MEC Taxonomy [11].

There are few characteristics of multi-access edge

computing based on ETSI MEC such as lower latency,
proximity, on-premises, location awareness and network
context information [12]. MEC can be deployed at any access
Fig. 7. Proposed 5G architecture implementing Cloud/ Mobile Edge
technology such as 4G, 5G, WiFi and Bluetooth for any given Computing (MEC) Radio Access Networks (RAN) [15].
scenarios like in-building or outdoor in dense areas. MEC
deployment may overlap with NFV or sharing the resources. A. MEC as Driver to 5G
However, some network equipment vendors may have Service providers can use MEC as a revenue generator
offerings on NFV or MEC, or both. and application test bed (including service producing
applications) without being forced to wait for full ratification
C. MEC Challenges and Requirements
of the 5G standard and the associated capital investment. This
The followings are the known challenges and approach enables SPs to offer third parties a cost-effective
requirements for adopting MEC [13]: way to trial their applications. Using an “edge cloud”, the
1) Technology Deployment: Complementing the other service provider can host applications in a virtual retail space,
technology like 5G, IoT, NFV, SDN or other open-source test the revenue return, and scale up or remove as appropriate.
platform such as ONAP for digital transformation. So, starting out as a 4G edge test bed with limited
2) Application Portability: No vendor lock-in and MEC deployments at first, MEC allows a smooth transition into the
servers can be deployed by any vendors, any platforms. 5G network rollout, removing the need for major upgrades
3) Resilience: maintain the high reliability and availability. when the time for transition arrives. Another focus area for
4) Mobile Network Integration: Transparency and compliant transitioning from today’s 4G to 5G networks is re-using the
with another mobile network standard like 3GPP. existing deployed systems in the process. Due to the
5) Security: To fulfill the security requirements for both virtualized characteristics of MEC, it has never been easier to
mobile and IT network with the applications. monitor performance and resource needs of an application as
6) Performance: MEC must not affect the user experience well as dimensioning the edge equipment exactly as required
and network performance. for the application set proposed.
III. MEC DRIVEN 5G ADOPTION B. MEC Use Scenarios
The main feature set of MEC provide improvement The followings use scenarios can be fully supported by
capabilities at the network edge, improved intelligence about MEC and 5G technology, but it can be supported from 4G
resources needed at the network edge and ability to charge for with some limitations:
service delivered by cycles, memory, storage and bandwidth
1) Video Stream Analysis Service: This service requires big
delivered, makes it very attractive to start the deployment
network bandwidth to process and analyze the video
now and then roll out as part of the 5G transition without
stream. The analysis is using algorithm with a complex
losing any upfront investment from the earlier test
computation such as analyzing the face from video
deployments. 5G mainly driven by applications and services
security surveillance, recognizing the vehicle plate
which require bigger capacity and extreme speed [14]. 4G
number [16]. By doing the analysis at the network edge,
currently enables many use cases like AR/VR, IoT and
the service providers can prevent the issue with network
autonomous vehicles but there are many things still not
congestion and utilize the benefits of low latency.
possible to be implemented with current 4G bandwidth,
latency and the computing ability.

Fig. 8. MEC for video stream analysis [13].

2) AR/VR Service: The future of AR/VR would require the

information near real-time. Many of AR/VR applications
require low latency and intensive data processing.
Fig. 6. 5G new radio requirements, capability and efficiency. Mobile games like Pokemon Go is an example of AR and
 with MEC, it will allow a combination between AR and time 5G is ready, MEC would be well prepared to work
VR and provides new experience for the users. Great together with 5G and any other technology like NFV. The
attention on AR with MEC has been shown by Intel following are the scenarios to deploy MEC on 4G:
during MWC 2016 [17]. 1) Bump in the wire: The expression “bump in the wire”
comprise all the scenarios in which the MEC platform
installation point ranges in locations between the base
station itself and the mobile core network [21]. Low latency
is supported by installing the MEC platform all the way
down to the eNB or any access nodes, or in locations that
ensure minimal latency. Additionally, it offers the
capability to steer traffic on a per session and/or packet
Fig. 9. MEC for augmented reality services [13]. granularity, with flexible filtering support.
3) IoT services and applications: MEC allows the mobile
edge host to perform high computation capabilities and
collect the distributed information to help designing IoT
devices without high processing power.
4) Autonomous Vehicles: This kind of vehicles can
increase safety level and avoid the traffic jam [17] [18] [19].
The current connected vehicle is having the latency
around 100ms or even greater. MEC enabled the
connected vehicles to do the computation and geo-based
services. In order to react fast, MEC can provide the
latency less than 20ms and make it possible for
autonomous driving. Fig. 11. MEC deployment using the "Bump in the wire" approach [22].

2) Distributed EPC (Evolved Packet Core): This scenario

requires less changes to the mobile operator’s network as
standard 3GPP entities and interfaces are leveraged for
operations such as session management, charging, etc.

Fig. 10. MEC for connected vehicles [13].

IV. MEC DEPLOYMENT

The purpose of this paper is to provide MEC deployment
guidance on 4G network and make successful transformation
to 5G. There are few ways to handle the traffic within MEC Fig. 12. MEC deployment with distributed EPC [22].
such as [20]:
1) Breakout mode will redirect or breakout the user payload The MEC applications can be co-located with the evolved
to a hosted MEC server locally in the network edge. packet core (EPC) functions in the same MEC host. This
Online games, video stream analysis, AR/VR, connected option can reduce costs as the EPC and its components
vehicles are the example use scenarios. can run e.g. as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) on the
2) In-line mode will maintain the session connectivity with same Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) platform
the cloud while user payload passes over MEC application with the MEC components in order to improve scalability
like media content caching. and better utilize network resources (see the example in
3) Tap mode will forward user payload to MEC application Fig. 13).
and process the data for analysis. Mainly tap mode is
being used for probing or specific security application.
4) Independent mode will not perform any traffic offloading
but will provide other MEC services such as DNS and
RNIS.
A. Deployment Scenarios in 4G
Mobile network operators can start the MEC deployment
on 4G network without waiting for 5G readiness and by the Fig. 13. MEC deployment with EPC and MEC application on the same
NFV platform (same MEC host). [22].
3) Distributed S/PGW: The distributed S/PGW deployment such as reusing the edge computing resources, interaction
option is similar with Distributed EPC, except that only with 5G control plane and integration with the 5G network.
SGW and PGW entities are deployed at the edge site,
whereas the control plane functions such as the Mobility
Management Entity (MME) and HSS are located at the
operator’s core site.

Fig. 14. S-GW and P-GW MEC deployment [22]. Fig. 17. Migration patterns for MEC deployments from 4G to 5G. In the top
left diagram, MME, SGW, PGW and HSS migration e.g. to support private
4) Distributed SGW with Local Breakout (SGW-LBO): networks and mission critical applications. At the top right, SGW-LBO MEC
Local breakout at the SGWs is a new architecture for migration to 5G for selective traffic offloading. In the bottom diagram, CUPS
MEC that originates from operators’ desire to have a migration to 5G. [22].
greater control on the granularity of the traffic that needs A consolidated vision of the MEC system is about
to be steered. This principle is dictated by the need to have deploying it as part of an NFV environment where MEC
the users able to reach both the MEC applications and the applications would be deployed as Virtual Network
operator’s core site application in a selective manner over Functions (VNFs). In this deployment scenario, we have
the same APN. already illustrated some examples of how the MEC and EPC
functions may work together. To fully understand the
implication of deploying MEC in an NFV environment, ETSI
MEC has already started looking at how the two technologies
can blend together, resulting in a proposed architecture
available [23]. The MEC system would be virtualized as well
and offered as a Network Service which introduces additional
Fig. 15. SGW-LBO MEC deployment [22]. challenges in all life-cycle and enablement procedures for the
MEC application (VNFs). Also, the management and
B. MEC Integration and Migration to 5G orchestration systems from both MEC and NFV are meant to
In distinction to 4G network architecture, the 5G co-operate in order to carry out their respective functions.
architecture allows flexible deployment of the user plane,
aiming to natively support MEC and easily integrated with V. RECOMMENDATIONS
5G. Fig. 17 illustrates an example MEC migration to 5G The followings are the recommendations to successfully
architecture. deploy multi-access edge solutions on 4G and 5G network:
1) Distributed EPC deployment model will be the best option
for the mobile network operators as many operators are
going for the digital transformation with NFV and this
model helps to deploy both MEC and NFV without
functions overlap and earning the maximum benefits.
2) 4G coverage is much bigger than 5G and with carrier
aggregation, 4G capacity and speed will be better. 5G will
not be able to serve the entire places. 4G will remain
strong in the next 10 years and many devices already
supported 4G. MEC deployment in 4G is recommended.
3) MEC solution should be located at different point depends
Fig. 16. Example of MEC with 5G architecture [22]. on the scenarios. For example, IoT and AR/VR are the
In the example above, the MEC platform would leverage applications which is sensitive to latency and it would best
the 5G architecture and performs the user payload routing and located in the fast and close network ~1ms and virtualized
steering function in the UPF. Although the position of MEC RAN would be best located in the network with the
at the edge site is left to the operators’ choice, similarly to latency around ~10ms.
what we have done for the 4G MEC deployment, here are a 4) Adopt open-source platform. Open source communities
few migration examples to 5G selected architectures. The like CNCF, ONAP and projects like Kubernetes provide
pictures below show how the MEC host, which includes the key ingredients of an edge software stack.
4G core network functions, can be transformed to support 5G 5) Must have an orchestration solution that capable of
by software upgrading the relevant network functions. In the handling the scale of base station and edge infrastructure.
transition to 5G the MEC functionalities introduced with the The recommendations above can be provided by the
4G technology are preserved, fulfilling key requirements distributed cloud which provides an execution environment
for cloud application optimization across multiple sites,
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