5G MEC deployments: Low-latency services context synchronization in mobility

Abstract:
5G Multi Access Edge Computing (MEC) is a rising technology aimed to reduce latency by bringing services close to the users. However, current MEC based services coverage is geographically limited and will often require of MEC data centers synchronization to avoid operation handovers when moving to a different coverage area; this is especially relevant in mobility. This paper focuses on this situation, identifying the benefits and limitations of the current MEC-based deployments to maintain the service continuity. Additionally, it proposes a theoretical method for data synchronization in future 5G MECbased deployments to allow applications context reallocation between several MEC data centers achieving to properly offer different services in mobility. This new method is generic and can be applied to any sector (industry, health, automation, etc.).