---

4.2 Deployment of MEC in 5G

版权声明: 转载请注明出处 http://www.codingsoho.com/

MEC as it is deployed currently in the 4th generation LTE networks, is connected to the user plane via one of the options described in the ETSI White Paper MEC deployments in 4G and evolution towards 5G [11]. With LTE networks already having been deployed for a number of years, it was necessary to design the MEC solution as an add-on to a 4G network in order to offer services in the edge. Consequently, the MEC system as defined in [1] and in the related interface specifications, is to a large extent self-contained, covering everything from management and orchestration down to interactions with the data plane for steering specific traffic flows.

With 5G, the starting point is different, as edge computing is identified as one of the key technologies required to support low latency together with mission critical and future IoT services. This was considered in the initial requirements. The system was designed from the beginning to provide efficient and flexible support for edge computing to enable superior performance and quality of experience. The design approach taken by 3GPP allows the mapping of MEC onto Application Functions (AF) that can use the services and information offered by other 3GPP network functions based on the configured policies. In addition, a number of enabling functionalities were defined to provide flexible support for different deployments of MEC and to support MEC in case of user mobility events. The new 5G architecture is described and explained in more detail in the next clause.