Efficient protected VNF placement and MEC location selection for dynamic service provisioning in 5G networks

Abstract

Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) have emerged as promising technologies for providing low-latency and high-bandwidth services to mobile users through Service Function Chains (SFCs) consisting of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). However, the efficient utilization of network resources and optimal placement of MECs to host VNFs remain challenging issues in NFV-based dynamic networks. Since the proximity of MEC nodes to end-users and the availability of resources at the location impact the blocking ratio in VNF placement, in this paper we analyze the impact of the location of the set of MEC resources in the network. Thus, starting from the work previously done related to the VNF placement scheme with different protection methods to accommodate services in MEC nodes, we conduct a simulation to evaluate the impact of different MEC locations on the blocking ratio. Our results demonstrate that strategic placement of MEC locations can significantly reduce the blocking ratio.