Edge Caching via User Equipment Content Sharing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-access edge computing (MEC) environments, servers near user equipment (UE) can reach storage capacity limits, leading to latency issues when caching content, as they cannot store additional content, thereby affecting the delivery of requested content to user devices.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a content cache manager that monitors UE sessions, determines cacheable content based on characteristics, and instructs a first UE to cache content, allowing it to provide cached content to a second UE requesting the same content, thereby preserving server storage and network resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If servers at the edge cache more content to reduce latency, then content delivery speed improves, but server storage capacity is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the caching function into two segments: edge servers and user equipment. Edge servers cache frequently requested content, while user equipment caches content for specific users. This segmentation allows the system to cache more total content without overloading individual edge servers, resolving the contradiction between delivery speed and server storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the caching dimension from only edge servers to include user equipment as a caching node. This creates a multi-layer caching architecture where content can be stored at multiple levels (edge server, user device), effectively adding a new dimension to the caching system and enabling faster delivery without increasing edge server storage burden.
2Loss of energy
If edge servers cache content locally to reduce network traffic, then network congestion decreases, but server storage resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables user equipment to cache content for themselves, making the caching system self-service oriented. Instead of relying solely on edge servers to cache all content, users cache their own frequently accessed content locally, reducing network traffic and edge server storage requirements while maintaining low latency for personalized content.
3Loss of time
If user equipment caches content to provide faster access, then latency is reduced, but user device storage is used
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by enabling caching at the specific location where content is most needed - the user's own device. Instead of uniformly caching all content at edge servers, the system allows selective caching at user equipment for content that user-specific patterns indicate will be frequently accessed, optimizing latency reduction while minimizing unnecessary storage usage.
Data Source
AI summary
A device may monitor a session involving a first user equipment and a network. The device may determine that content associated with the session is cacheable based on a characteristic of the content. The device may determine a status of the first user equipment. The device may select, based on the status and the characteristic, the first user equipment to cache content data associated with the content and transmit a cache message to the first user equipment. The cache message may be configured to cause the first user equipment to cache the content data in a local data structure of the first user equipment. The device may perform an action associated with causing the first user equipment to provide the content to a second user equipment that requests the content via the network.