Technical Article

A New Multi-access Edge Computing

Architecture for 5G Using Innovative Industrial
Cloud Computing Platforms

www.adlinktech.com
 The Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) initiative can improve user experience and save
bandwidth resources, as well as provide endless possibilities for service innovation at the
network edge. These benefits are achieved by moving computing power to the multi-access
edge node and providing third-party application integration at the network edge.

Introduction
The deployment of 4G networks and the number of 4G mobile users are both
increasing rapidly. At the same time social networking applications and online-to-
offline (O2O) commerce have recently experienced vigorous growth and consumed
most of the available 4G bandwidth. Telecom operators worldwide are facing a
common crisis as business investment and mobile traffic continue to grow, while
mobile carrier network is becoming pipelined, reducing the average revenue per
user (ARPU). To address this problem, international standards organizations for
telecommunications have been taking action. To prevent the mobile carrier network
from becoming pipelined, they are investigating how to increase the bandwidth value
by bonding the carrier network with the mobile Internet and the Internet of Things (IoT)
more deeply. 5G mobile networking technology will not only provide more flexible
deployment, but will also produce a win-win scenario for mobile users and telecom
operators in order to achieve sustainable business growth.

The Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) initiative by the European

Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) is such a network architecture that
Contents is based on the evolution to 5G and comprehensively fuses the mobile access
network with Internet services. MEC can improve user experience and save
Introduction P1 bandwidth resources, as well as provide endless possibilities for service innovation
5G Radio Access Network Infrastructure P4
at the network edge. These benefits are achieved by moving computing power to
the multi-access edge node and providing third-party application integration at the
MEC Server Requirements P6
network edge. The seamless integration of mobile networks and mobile applications
ADLINK Solutions for MEC P7 will provide a powerful weapon for meeting the challenges from various over-the-top
Conclusion P10 (OTT) content providers. The following are some of innovative services that can be
achieved through MEC.

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 Distance measurements are carried out on the MEC server using data collected from
base stations. Precise positioning and tracking of mobile devices is achieved based on
location algorithms, allowing location-related business services to be provided to mobile
users.

Location Service
Distance
Measurement User ID, Location (X,Y)

Internet

MEC Server

Radio Access Network Core Network/IT

Figure 1, Location services based on MEC positioning

Video streams captured from mobile devices are analyzed on MEC servers and an event
notification is sent to a preset terminal when a predetermined event is detected using
intelligent video analytics. The targeted applications include public safety, IoT, and smart
cities.

Video Capture Intelligent Video Analytics Back-office System

Internet

MEC Server

Radio Access Network Core Network/IT

Figure 2, Intelligent video analytics on MEC servers

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 Real-time communications between a radio access network (RAN) and a mobile user are
evaluated on an MEC server (e.g. for cellular load and link quality), allowing for dynamic
optimization of video content delivered to the device. For example, high-quality video
with high bit rate is streamed to the mobile user when network conditions are good, and
lower-quality video with lower bit rate is streamed when network conditions are bad in
order to guarantee a smooth viewing experience.

Adjust the Bit rate of Video

Video Streaming
Streaming Based on Cellular Quality Optimization

Internet

MEC Server

Radio Access Network Core Network/IT

Figure 3, Dynamic video streaming optimization on MEC servers

Frequently accessed content such as news websites, trending video content and
popular pages on shopping websites are cached on the MEC server. When this content
is requested by a subsequent mobile user, the cached versions are delivered, greatly
reducing download time and improving the user experience. Additionally, network
transmission costs on the backbone are also decreased.

Local Cache Central Cache

Internet

MEC Server

Radio Access Network Core Network/IT

Figure 4, Content caching for download acceleration by MEC servers

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 5G Radio Access Network Infrastructure

5G networks will not only provide higher bandwidth,

but also support more flexible deployment in order to
accommodate different operating environments. As of
the transition to 5G approaches, the two competing
architectures, Centralized/Cloud Radio Access Network
(C-RAN) and Distributed Radio Access Network (D-RAN),
are receiving more and more attention.

C-RAN
C-RAN architecture consists of three parts: a distributed wireless network comprised of a remote
radio Unit (RRU) and antennas, a high-bandwidth and low-latency optical transport network, and
a centralized baseband unit (BBU) pool consisting of general purpose processors with Network
Function Virtualization (NFV) support. The optical transport network connects the RRU and
BBU. Multiple BBUs in the BBU pool are connected together through high-bandwidth switches
with Software Defined Network (SDN) support. By using NFV and SDN in combination, resource
sharing and dynamic scheduling in the BBU pool can be achieved to increase spectrum utilization
efficiency. Compared to the traditional RAN architecture, C-RAN eliminates the constraint that
the RRU and BBU must be deployed close to each other and also centralizes the BBU of various
base stations into a single district tandem office. The application of C-RAN will reduce the
construction and maintenance costs of telecom rooms and increase spectral efficiency through
collaboration methods and virtualization technologies.

OCCERA Platform

Telecom
Room

Antenna (RRU) Antenna (RRU)

Figure 5, Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN)

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 D-RAN
The RRU and BBU still coexist within a base station in D-RAN. The development direction of
D-RAN is miniaturization, and it strives for a completely outdoor deployment without the need for
a machine room. Thanks to the advancements in semiconductor technology, all the components
of a base station, including RRU and BBU, can now be made small enough to achieve a
completely outdoor deployment. Concurrently, the advancements in communications technology
have eliminated the resource sharing limitation between different base stations, which makes it
possible to achieve collaboration and resource sharing among neighboring base stations. D-RAN
provides many advantages for deep coverage and rapid deployment, and is especially suitable
for the deployment of applications related to geographical location and the IoT.

Antenna
Antenna

SETO-1000

Base Station
Telecom Room
Base Station
Power Supply

Transmission
Power Supply

Transmission

Figure 6, Distributed Radio Access Network (D-RAN)

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 MEC Server Requirements
Whether C-RAN or D-RAN deployment mode is adopted for 5G networks, MEC
will definitely be introduced into the network to open up more opportunities
for application innovation. When cloud computing and cloud storage is moved
to the network edge, a high performance, low latency, high bandwidth, and
carrier grade service environment that is in close proximity to the mobile user is
created, which will help accelerate download speeds of content, services and
applications, and provide a better customer experience to the mobile user. The
main characteristics of MEC servers are listed below, most of them originating
from data center technologies, but some meeting higher requirements than
usually required by data centers, such as high availability and hot-swapping.

Network Function Virtualization

NFV technology can help transform the traditional base station into a multifunction
computing platform, thereby providing a powerful tool for MEC servers to cultivate a
new generation of wireless applications at the network edge. Transforming the hardware
computing infrastructure into a virtualized computing platform will make it easier to deploy
various wireless applications on the platform. Additionally, because proprietary network
hardware platforms are replaced by virtualized network appliances, network functions can
be deployed where required more easily and quickly. With NFV, computing and storage
can be allocated dynamically on demand, achieving optimal device utilization.

Software Defined Network

SDN technology separates the control plane and forwarding plane and can be
used to increase the data flow manageability of MEC servers. By using NFV
and SDN in combination, network resources can be allocated as required to
achieve a flexible network deployment with more precise control of Quality
of Service (QoS) on traffic flow, improving end-to-end user experience and
achieving high-efficiency network operation.

Multi-access Edge Computing enables new Edge Computing and Storage

solutions, allowing operators to improve the In order to support a rich set of applications, 5G networks require more
user experience by enhancing application computing and storage resources to be deployed at the network edge. C-RAN
responsiveness and quality. deployment requires a MEC server to have characteristics similar to that of
one used in an IT data center. But compared with a traditional data center
server, it also has some additional requirements in order to provide the required
carrier-grade service availability, including main computing and switching
nodes with hot-swap support, and main communication links with backups
for failover. D-RAN requires the complete outdoors deployment mode is taken
into account. Because the MEC server will work in a harsh environment, it must
have the characteristics of heat resistance, cold resistance, waterproof, and
dust prevention.

Energy Efficiency
In order to have energy-efficient 5G networks, processors with higher
efficiency and dynamic performance scalability based on real-time computing
loads will be used in MEC servers in order to reduce power consumption.
During idle time, the MEC server will support service hot-migration to
centralize the computing load in order to power off idle computing nodes,
effectively reducing energy consumption for a more environmentally-friendly
network.

Bandwidth and Connectivity

Compared to traditional data center servers, the MEC servers deployed at the
multi-access edge will not only provide higher bandwidth, but also a richer
set of network interface types, including 1/10 GbE copper/optical and 40GbE
optical. MEC servers will also meet requirements for link redundancy and low-
latency transmission.

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 ADLINK Solutions for MEC
Compared with the deployment mode of traditional base stations, both
C-RAN and D-RAN can reduce the required number of telecom rooms,
and increase spectral efficiency. To provide the required deployment
flexibility and high performance for 5G Multi-access Edge Computing,
ADLINK provides not only Open Compute Carrier-grade Edge Reference
Architecture (hereafter referred to as “OCCERA”) platforms for C-RAN
deployment that offer high-density computing resources, but
also the rugged SETO-1000 server for D-RAN deployment
that can endure the extreme conditions of harsh outdoor
environments.

The driving ambition behind OCCERA platforms is to introduce the latest technologies of IT data
centers into industrial telecom computing. It implies the main characteristics of the platform:
modular design, industrial carrier-grade features, and cloud-oriented design.

OCCERA adopts an innovative modular design, allowing the customer to select different
functional modules based on specific application requirements to build a a highly tailored
computing platform. ADLINK provides a range of the most commonly-used compute, switch,
storage and IO modules for customers to choose from. Because of OCCERA's open architecture,
customers can design their own modules to meet their particular requirements, or provide
ADLINK with a module specification within the OCCERA framework to design and manufacture.
OCCERA platforms connect the high-speed PCIe bus of the compute node to the backplane,
providing maximum flexibility to specify a customized functional module. In addition, OCCERA
platforms are available in 2U, 4U and 10U form factors in order to meet the different computing
capacity requirements at different stages of a project.

OCCERA adopts industrial-grade design. In addition to adopting Intel's latest high-

performance low-power consumption Xeon processors to provide a high-density computing
performance, a more flexible application extension, as well as better energy efficiency for
Multi-access Edge Computing, OCCERA designs also factor in particular requirements of
telecom equipment. For example, in order to meet the “five nines” availability required by most
telecom services, all OCCERA compute, switch and storage modules are designed to support
redundancy and hot-plugging. OCCERA IO modules support advanced LAN bypass features
and users can control the power-on/off bypass mode of each network IO card independently
via BIOS setting or IPMI command. To deal with the high bandwidth requirements of future 5G
networks, each OCCERA compute node can support dual 64G bandwidth to two redundant
switch modules. Higher bandwidth requirements can be achieved through expansion IO cards,
allowing a single compute module to support up to 480G communication links. In conjunction
with the Intel® Data Plane Developer Kit (DPDK) and Open vSwitch (OVS), the computing power

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 and IO capabilities of a compute module can be maximized in order to achieve high-density IO
processing.

OCCERA is designed for industrial cloud computing. In addition to adopting the latest
Intel processor technologies, such as multi-core, hyper-thread, and VT-x, to provide sufficient
support for virtualization, OCCERA also integrates a wide range of the latest hardware
acceleration technologies to boost the processing of network packets and video streams. For
SDN, OCCERA switch modules use larger TCAM tables to implement L2/L3/L4 fast forwarding
using OpenFlow. For NFV, OCCERAA switch modules and network cards support hardware-
accelerated processing for NVGRE and VXLAN tunnel protocols. For video processing, the
OCCERA compute nodes utilize the Intel® Quick Sync Video functionality integrated in the
Intel® processor to implement hardware-assisted video encoding/decoding and analytics. For
packet processing, OCCERA compute nodes are able to implement load balancing and packet
filtering via network cards without taking computing resources from the main processor. In
addition, customers can optionally select an expansion card with Intel® QuickAssist Technology
to implement data encryption/decryption or compression/decompression via hardware. The
integration of dedicated hardware processing units not only speeds up the processing of
arithmetic-intensive application tasks, but also relieves the burden on the main processor in
handling these tasks, achieving more efficient usage of computing resources.

Table 1, OCCERA platforms and their suitable applications

OCCERA Platforms Main Characteristics Suitable Applications

2U, supports hardware-based video processing, up to 16

MCS-2080 Video transcoding, video analytics, WebRTC conferencing
systems, dual redundant switches

2U, high performance processor, supports up to 8 IO

CSA-7200 Deep packet inspection, network traffic monitoring,
expansion cards, supports advanced LAN bypass feature
network security, content caching service, location
4U, supports dual Xeon® E5 compute modules, high service, rich media social networking, video delivery
CSA-7400 bandwidth and low latency switching, supports hot- optimization
swapping and energy saving
Customized computing platforms suitable for dedicated
Other Products applications through a flexible combination of compute,
switch, IO and customized modules

SETO-1000: High Performance Server for Edge Computing with Intel®

Xeon® Processor E5-2400 v2

The ADLINK SETO-1000 high performance server for edge computing can operate in a
temperature range of -40 °C to +55 °C with self-heating main components for safe start-up in
ultra-low temperature environments. The SETO-1000 has an IP65 rating for dust and liquids and
is also resistant to shock and vibration, making it an ideal computing device for deployment in
extreme outdoor environments. Furthermore, SETO-1000 has a fanless design and features high
speed connectors (fiber or copper) with ingress protection from inclement conditions. Being
robust and reliable for reduced maintenance costs, the SETO-1000 is ideally implemented as
an MEC server to perform content caching, thus reducing the required transmission bandwidth,
and decreasing transmission delay. Simultaneously, high performance computing and storage
capacity can be provided for third-party application development, providing differentiated
services for mobile users.

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 Industry-Oriented Application Ready Intelligent Platforms

ADLINK's goal is to build Application Ready Intelligent Platforms (ARiPs) for 5G cloud computing,
and provide the SDN/NFV and other software infrastructures required for Multi-access Edge
Computing. When constructing edge computing services based on OCCERA platforms or the
SETO-1000, customers need not be concerned about low level supporting software, and can
focus on the development of more high level value-added applications.

To compliment OCCERA platforms and SETO-1000 hardware, ADLINK provides MediaManager

software for network video processing and PacketManager software for packet processing.
MediaManager is provided to help develop end-to-end video applications and supports audio/
video de-multiplexing, RTP stream receiving/sending, video composition, application prototyping
for video on demand, video conferencing and video analytics. It also demonstrates how to
take full advantage of the GPU hardware acceleration capabilities to develop video server
applications. PacketManager is provided to handle network packet processing in addition to
traditional L2/L3 protocol stacks. It can also implement flow-based forwarding strategy, load
balancing, encryption/decryption and compression/decompression of packet payloads.

OCCERA platforms and the SETO-1000 not only provide NFV and SDN hardware support, but
also integrate mainstream open source and third-party NFV/SDN software, thus reducing the
NFV/SDN implementation effort required by customers. For SDN support, ADLINK integrates
Intel® DPDK OVS on OCCERA platforms and SETO-1000, and will provide OpenFlow support
for all switch nodes in the near future. For NFV support, ADLINK integrates Wind River Titanium
Server and provides VMware virtualization certification for compute nodes. ADLINK ARiPs allow
customers to leverage open-source software such as OpenStack, as well as enabling them to
obtain carrier-grade NFV services more easily.

In addition to basic software infrastructures, ADLINK OCCERA platforms and SETO-1000 also
support out-of-band system management that conforms to the IPMI 2.0 specification. Customers
can monitor the operating status of compute nodes remotely and can execute remote reset/
shutdown/startup. Furthermore, the power consumption of compute nodes can be accessed
and a variety of power saving policies can be executed via the IPMI interface to achieve
maximum energy efficiency.

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 Conclusion

In combination with ADLINK ARiP software, mobile

equipment providers can construct the next
generation of telecom applications more quickly
and stay ahead of the curve in the increasingly
competitive telecom industry.

The benefits of the 5G network will not only be reflected in faster download speeds, but will
also come in the form of new customer-centric mobile applications. The Multi-access Edge
Computing architecture that has emerged from the demands of the next generation of mobile
networks will use the RAN to provide the network and cloud computing functions at the mobile
edge and will create a high performance, low latency and high bandwidth service environment
close to mobile users to accelerate the downloading of content, services and applications,
allowing them to experience a better network service. OCCERA platforms and the SETO-1000
rugged outdoor server from ADLINK meet the requirements of both data center and telecom
computing. They provide the building blocks for a feature-rich industrial cloud computing
environment through their innovative architectural and industrial designs. In combination with
ADLINK ARiP software, mobile equipment providers can construct the next generation of
telecom applications more quickly and stay ahead of the curve in the increasingly competitive
telecom industry.

About ADLINK

ADLINK Technology is leading edge computing with solutions that drive data-to-decision
applications across industries. ADLINK offers a variety of building blocks and both generic
and market-specific Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platforms to serve the automation,
communications, medical, transportation, and defense/government verticals.

Our products include motherboards, blades, chassis, modules, gateways, systems, and end-
to-end solutions based on industry standard form factors, as well as an extensive line of test &
measurement products and smart touch computers, displays, and handhelds that support the
global transition to always connected systems. Many products are Extreme Rugged, supporting
extended temperature ranges, shock and vibration.

ADLINK is a Premier Member of the Intel® Internet of Things Solutions Alliance and is
active in several standards organizations and interoperability initiatives, including European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Telecom Infra Project (TIP), Open Network
Automation Platform (ONAP – The Linux Foundation Projects) and Open Compute Project (OCP).

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 ADLINK Technology is a Premier member of the Intel® Internet of Things Solutions
Alliance. From modular components to market-ready systems, Intel and the 400+ global
member companies of the Intel® Internet of Things Solutions Alliance provide scalable,
interoperable solutions that accelerate deployment of intelligent devices and end-to-
end analytics. Close collaboration with Intel and each other enables Alliance members to
innovate with the latest technologies, helping developers deliver first-in-market solutions.
Learn more at: intel.com/iotsolutionsalliance

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