The MEC paradigm calls for a distribution of computational capacity at the network's edges. While MEC will play a key role in future 5G deployments, it will take some time until the existing 4G networks evolve into a full 5G system. A challenge exists to devise a transition mechanism that allows MEC features to be seamlessly integrated in the current 4G networks. This article introduces a lightweight, ETSI-compliant MEC solution for 4G and 5G networks. The proposed solution, which we name LightEdge, has the main goal of immediately making available the features and capabilities of edge clouds to mobile users. This article reports on the design and implementation of LightEdge and on its evaluation in a practical latency-sensitive use case.

中文翻译：

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LightEdge：映射蜂窝网络中多接入边缘计算的演变

MEC 范式要求在网络边缘分配计算能力。虽然 MEC 将在未来的 5G 部署中发挥关键作用，但现有 4G 网络演变为完整的 5G 系统还需要一段时间。设计一种允许 MEC 功能无缝集成到当前 4G 网络中的过渡机制存在挑战。本文介绍了一种适用于 4G 和 5G 网络的轻量级、符合 ETSI 标准的 MEC 解决方案。所提议的解决方案，我们将其命名为 LightEdge，其主要目标是立即向移动用户提供边缘云的特性和功能。本文报告了 LightEdge 的设计和实现及其在实际延迟敏感用例中的评估。