MEC Orchestrator Segmentation for Scalable Slicing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multi-access edge computing (MEC) architectures lack scalability and efficiency in managing network slices and application services across multiple tenants, leading to bottlenecks and hindered deployment speed.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves splitting the MEC Orchestrator into two domains: the MEC Owner Orchestrator and the MEC Tenant/Customer Orchestrator, allowing for independent management and orchestration of network slices and application slices respectively, with a communication interface for resource synchronization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single MEC Orchestrator manages all network slices and application services, then centralized control is achieved, but scalability is limited and deployment speed is reduced due to bottlenecks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single MEC Orchestrator into two separate orchestrators: the MEC Owner Orchestrator that manages network slices, and the MEC Tenant/Customer Orchestrator that manages application services. This segmentation eliminates the bottleneck by distributing management responsibilities, allowing parallel operations and faster deployment of application services without compromising centralized control over network resources.
2Device complexity
If a single MEC Orchestrator manages all resources, then unified resource management is achieved, but scalability across multiple tenants is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the orchestrator functions into domain-specific orchestrators that can independently scale for different tenants. The MEC Owner Orchestrator maintains unified management of network slices, while the MEC Tenant/Customer Orchestrator provides tenant-specific application service management, enabling multi-tenant scalability without sacrificing unified resource management capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an interface between the two orchestrators that acts as an intermediary for resource synchronization. This intermediary mechanism allows the MEC Tenant/Customer Orchestrator to independently manage application services while the MEC Owner Orchestrator manages network resources, enabling scalable multi-tenant operations with coordinated resource management.
3Use of energy by moving object
If tenants share the same MEC Orchestrator, then resource utilization is optimized, but deployment speed and independence are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments orchestrator responsibilities so that the MEC Tenant/Customer Orchestrator can independently deploy application services without waiting for the MEC Owner Orchestrator's approval for each action. This segmentation maintains resource utilization optimization through the interface while eliminating deployment delays caused by centralized sequential processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the MEC Tenant/Customer Orchestrator to perform preliminary actions for application service deployment independently. The orchestrator can prepare and deploy application services in advance without requiring real-time coordination with the MEC Owner Orchestrator, reducing deployment time while the interface ensures resource utilization optimization through synchronized resource allocation.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: manage an application service using a management web portal; request, using the management web portal, the application service with a given service level agreement from a catalogue of offered application services; and communicate, using the management web portal, with an application service management function; wherein the application service management function is configured to translate e the service level agreement of the requested application service to a specification of an application slice, and to trigger a creation of an application slice instance by contacting an application slice management function.