Nokia: EE Demonstrated MEC w/Edge Video Orchestration

A post to Nokia's Blog by Dirk Lindemeier [pictured], head of Liquid Applications, describes the latest development in the Mobile Edge Computing (MEC - see "Mobile Edge Computing Group Formed" - here):

"At the recent Connected Stadium Summit, held at Wembley Stadium, UK operator EE demonstrated the power of Mobile Edge Computing. 

An application called Edge Video Orchestration (EVO) shared live video of both a football match and a simulated security scenario to multiple screens with less than 1 second latency. The demonstration was the first of its kind in the UK and was shown to IT and technology directors of some of the world’s largest venues, including the All England Club which hosts Wimbledon.

EE demonstrated the capability of a high-performance and scalable solution suitable for deployment at the edge of the mobile network, with data processed and stored in a distributed manner". 

Related link - an interview with Mansoor Hanif, Director of Radio Access Networks, EE - "Iconic Wembley stadium is the “Mothership” of EE’s network" - here.
 
See "EE and Mobile Edge Computing ready to rock Wembley stadium" - here.

Juniper Networks and Saguna Offer a Joint MEC Solution

Saguna announced its joint solution with Juniper Networks - "Juniper Networks and Saguna joined forces to create a complete, pre-integrated Mobile Edge Computing platform, one that delivers MEC functionality with the underlying system elements required for operation within the demanding radio access network (RAN) environment. 

This joint solution allows end-user applications to achieve high bandwidth with ultra-low latency by enabling service providers to deploy services closer to the edge network using an NFV-based cloud computing environment in the mobile RAN. 

The SRAN solution components include:

• Juniper Networks® ACX Series Universal Access Routers, MX Series 3D Universal Edge Routers and QFX Series Switches – These families of switches and routers have the ability to run a Hypervisor environment within them, allowing the MEC Platform Service, API layers and MEC Edge applications to run within the Juniper hardware in the pre-aggregation/IP-aggregation environment. The MEC Edge applications can also run on an external x86-based device.
   
• Juniper Networks vSRX - To ensure security within the sensitive RAN environment, Juniper Networks vSRX (virtual SRX) acts as a Security Gateway for terminating IPsec tunnels from the RAN and an originator to the centralized Security Gateway. The product also provides Firewall / NAT functions for any user traffic that needs to be offloaded locally.
   
• Juniper Networks Contrail Networking – The cloud network automation platform enables mobile operators to manage the MEC platform and Edge applications from a central location. New applications and services can be enabled or disabled on demand, delivering the primary benefits of an SDN overlay network.
   
• Saguna Open-RAN – Saguna’s MEC platform is a fully virtualized software solution. The MEC standard-based platform creates an open ecosystem for 3rd party MEC applications enabling mobile operators to expand their offering as new MEC services are brought to market. It also supports user mobility and core functionality including charging, policy control and lawful interception to ensure seamless integration into existing mobile network architectures.
  

Saguna Open-RAN

See "Juniper Networks and Saguna’s Service Aware RAN Solution Receives Award at Mobile Edge Computing Congress 2015" - here.

Nokia's Recipe for Lower Latency

A post by Thomas Kaps [pictured] to Nokia's blog lists "3 ways to reduce latency to milliseconds [for] real-time applications and data communication that demand instant responses from the network to create an enjoyable experience:

• Throughput:... Good news is that throughput increase and latency reduction are now important design criteria, as we progress from one generation of technology evolution to the next. LTE reduces round-trip-time (RTT) by 50% compared to the previous technology generation and 5G will reduce it further to single-digit milliseconds.
  
  In addition, throughput can be improved with known techniques such as Carrier Aggregation or Coordinated Multi Point (CoMP), in addition to deploying LTE, Single RAN and Small Cells. Increasing fiber availability will also provide bandwidth galore.

• Proximity: The only absolute constraints on latency are distance and the speed of light .. The only way to improve this is to reduce the distance between devices and the content and applications they are accessing. Bringing data storage and processing closer to the user can be achieved through approaches such as Mobile Edge Computing [see "Mobile Edge Computing Group Formed" - here] as demonstrated by Nokia’s Liquid Applications solution [see "Rumors: NSN's Liquid Applications Uses Saguna's Technology" - here].
  
  Another promising development is Software Defined Networking (SDN). When applied to mobile network functions such as gateways, SDN can bring applications and network resources closer to the end user or even fast forward traffic to local nodes, bypassing central nodes when relevant.
  
  Introducing flat IP and distributed cloud-based architectures can also help improve latency by reducing the number of hops and elements required for packets to traverse through.

• Control: .. software-driven measures that provide ‘dynamic network control’ can also help improve latency at a session/application level. For example, software applications ensure that heterogeneous resources are applied intelligently on a case-to-case basis in real time depending on the network situation, application needs, and desired QoE.
  
  Functionalities such as Application aware RAN and Network aware applications can improve latency for specific applications. Nokia’s Dynamic Experience Management (DEM) delivers required QoE at a session level, including measured and perceived latency, through a fast loop control of measurement, analytics, decisions and actions all in real-time. DEM combined with network-level orchestration across all domains will pave the way to get from optimized reaction to automated prediction and control of latency dynamically". 

See "Don’t let latency make you dizzy" - here.

Parallel Wireless Enhances PeerApp and Saguna MEC Solution

Parallel Wireless announced a "partnership to enhance the Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) solution provided by PeerApp and Saguna Networks. Saguna’s technology is incorporated in PeerApp’s previously announced MEC solution (see "PeerApp Integrates Saguna's Mobile Edge Solution" - here and "Mobile Edge Computing Group Formed" - here).

To further improve backhaul capacity for the PeerApp/Saguna MEC solution architecture, Parallel Wireless is using its software-defined, multi-mode, multi-band Converged Wireless System (CWS) base station and HetNet Gateway (HNG) orchestrator.

See "Parallel Wireless Reimagines Mobile Content Delivery with PeerApp and Saguna" - here.

EE to Pilot Mobile Edge Computing; Needs Multi-Vendor Support

Michelle Donegan reports to LightReading that "UK operator EE plans to run a number of pilots this summer to demonstrate potential use cases for mobile edge computing (MEC), in a move that shows industry momentum continues to build for the radio access network concept".

Mansoor Hanif [pictured], Director of Radio Access Networks, EE said . "I'm really passionate about MEC … because you're putting the computing power and added value right where the customer needs it most,"

"EE always liked [Nokia Networks'] Liquid Applications, according to Hanif. But the big question was "will it work across our whole network?" Since EE has deployed RAN equipment from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. as well as Nokia, Hanif explained that the operator couldn't roll out network enhancements to only part of its customer base".

Related posts:

• Mobile Edge Computing Group Formed - here.
• StarHub Trialed Nokia's Liquid Applications at WTA Finals - here
• Nokia Adds BroadPeak's CDN to its Base Station Applications  - here
• Saguna's Optimization and Monetization Technology to be Deployed in 2014 - here

See "EE Revs Mobile Edge Computing Efforts" - here.