Nec Corporation

Lanfranco Zanzi

Vincenzo Sciancalepore

Fabio Giust

Xavier Costa Perez

Antonio Albanese

A method is provided for operating an edge computing system in which edge application servers (EASs) are provided by application service providers (ASPs) for deployment in edge data network (EDNs). The method includes receiving, from each of a plurality of the ASPs, a respective deployment request for a respective EAS, each respective deployment request including software image information for the respective EAS. The method further includes assigning, to each of the plurality of the ASPs from which a respective deployment request is received, a set of at least one application management privilege, and receiving EAS lifecycle management requests issued by one or more of the ASPs from which a respective deployment request is received. The EAS lifecycle management requests specify lifecycle management operations to be performed for respective EASs. The method additionally includes performing the lifecycle management operations for the respective EASs in response to the EAS lifecycle management requests.

System and method to support network slicing in an MEC system providing automatic conflict resolution arising from multiple tenancy in the MEC environment

A method for operating a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system in which tenant applications are provided by MEC tenants for deployment on MEC hosts of the MEC system. The method includes receiving, from each of a plurality of MEC tenants, an application package, the application package including application software be installed at one or more of the MEC hosts of the MEC system, the application software corresponding to a tenant application of the tenant applications. The method further includes assigning, to each of the plurality of MEC tenants, a set of at least one application management privilege, and receiving application operation requests issued by MEC tenants. The application operation requests specify operations to be performed for the tenant applications. The method additionally includes pre-validating, using the sets of at least one application management privilege assigned to the plurality of MEC tenants, the application operation requests.

A method for enabling dynamic resource ownership transfer among network slice tenants includes acquiring an initial share of resources, admitting a plurality of tenants to a private blockchain platform, initiating a resource transaction process within a consortium of peer nodes, and validating proposed transactions in a distributed and automatized way. An infrastructure provider (InP) provides a mobile network that is virtually divided into a set of slices, and an intermediate broker (IB) regulates transactions, executed via a blockchain, by which resources are distributed between tenants. A smart contract (SC) running within the blockchain implements resource auditing among tenants and enforces IB-specific policies in managing transfers of the resources between the tenants. A consensus algorithm validates the transactions, and the infrastructure provider (InP) processes validated transactions and enforces transaction directives in the resource allocation process.

Multi-resource and autonomous hierarchical brokering platform to enable slice resource exchange among heterogeneous network tenants

A method for operating, by an MEC operator, a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system in which applications are provided by MEC tenants for deployment on MEC hosts of the MEC system and in which various levels of privileges are provided by the MEC operator to the MEC tenants. The method includes assigning, by an MEC broker, privileges to the MEC tenants; initiating, by the MEC broker via interactions with one or more of an MEC Orchestrator, an MEC platform manager, and a user app LCM proxy, operations. The operations can include one or more of application package on-boarding, application instance installation on selected MEC hosts, application provisioning, through configuration of appropriate parameters, and application life-cycle management operations including one or more of bootstrapping, termination, migration, scaling. The method further includes pre-validating, using the privileges provided to the MEC tenants, operation requests issued by the MEC tenants.

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Heidelberg, Germany

Lanfranco Zanzi