Optimal dynamic spectrum allocation-assisted latency minimization for multiuser mobile edge computing

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) has been envisioned as an efficient solution to provide computation-intensive yet latency-sensitive services for wireless devices. In this paper, we investigate the optimal dynamic spectrum allocation-assisted multiuser computation offloading in MEC for overall latency minimization. Specifically, we first focus on a static multiuser computation offloading scenario and jointly optimize users' offloading decisions, transmission durations, and Edge Servers' (ESs) resource allocations. Owing to the nonconvexity of our joint optimization problem, we identify its layered structure and decompose it into two problems: a subproblem and a top problem. For the subproblem, we propose a bisection search-based algorithm to efficiently find the optimal users' offloading decisions and ESs’ resource allocations under a given transmission duration. Second, we use a linear search-based algorithm for solving the top problem to obtain the optimal transmission duration based on the result of the subproblem. Further, after solving the static scenario, we consider a dynamic scenario of multiuser computation offloading with time-varying channels and workload. To efficiently address this dynamic scenario, we propose a deep reinforcement learning-based online algorithm to determine the near-optimal transmission duration in a real-time manner. Numerical results are provided to validate our proposed algorithms for minimizing the overall latency in both static and dynamic offloading scenarios. We also demonstrate the advantages of our proposed algorithms compared to the conventional multiuser computation offloading schemes.     

Deep reinforcement learning-based joint task offloading and bandwidth allocation for multi-user mobile edge computing

The rapid growth of mobile internet services has yielded a variety of computation-intensive applications such as virtual/augmented reality. Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), which enables mobile terminals to offload computation tasks to servers located at the edge of the cellular networks, has been considered as an efficient approach to relieve the heavy computational burdens and realize an efficient computation offloading. Driven by the consequent requirement for proper resource allocations for computation offloading via MEC, in this paper, we propose a Deep-Q Network (DQN) based task offloading and resource allocation algorithm for the MEC. Specifically, we consider a MEC system in which every mobile terminal has multiple tasks offloaded to the edge server and design a joint task offloading decision and bandwidth allocation optimization to minimize the overall offloading cost in terms of energy cost, computation cost, and delay cost. Although the proposed optimization problem is a mixed integer nonlinear programming in nature, we exploit an emerging DQN technique to solve it. Extensive numerical results show that our proposed DQN-based approach can achieve the near-optimal performance.     

Users' experience matter: Delay sensitivity-aware computation offloading in mobile edge computing

As a promising computing paradigm, Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) provides communication and computing capability at the edge of the network to address the concerns of massive computation requirements, constrained battery capacity and limited bandwidth of the Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Most existing works on mobile edge task ignores the delay sensitivities, which may lead to the degraded utility of computation offloading and dissatisfied users. In this paper, we study the delay sensitivity-aware computation offloading by jointly considering both user's tolerance towards delay of task execution and the network status under computation and communication constraints. Specifically, we use a specific multi-user and multi-server MEC system to define the latency sensitivity of task offloading based on the analysis of delay distribution of task categories. Then, we propose a scoring mechanism to evaluate the sensitivity-dependent utility of task execution and devise a Centralized Iterative Redirection Offloading (CIRO) algorithm to collect all information in the MEC system. By starting with an initial offloading strategy, the CIRO algorithm enables IoT devices to cooperate and iteratively redirect task offloading decisions to optimize the offloading strategy until it converges. Extensive simulation results show that our method can significantly improve the utility of computation offloading in MEC systems and has lower time complexity than existing algorithms.     

NOMA物联网下多UAV辅助MEC系统的资源分配

为解决偏远地区或突发灾害等场景中的物联网(Internet of Things, IoT)设备的任务计算问题,构建了一个非正交多址接入(Non-orthogonal Multiple Access, NOMA)-IoT(NOMA-IoT)下多无人机(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UAV)辅助的NOMA多址边缘计算(Multiple Access Edge Computing, MEC)系统。该系统中设备的计算能耗、卸载能耗和MEC服务器计算能耗直接受同信道干扰、计算资源和发射功率的影响,可通过联合优化卸载策略、计算资源和发射功率最小化系统加权总能耗。根据优化问题的非凸性和复杂性,提出了一种有效的迭代算法解决：首先,对固定卸载策略,计算资源和发射功率分配问题可通过连续凸逼近转化为可解的凸问题;其次,对固定计算资源和发射功率,利用联盟形成博弈解决卸载策略问题,以最小化IoT设备之间的同信道干扰。仿真结果表明,较OMA接入方式,NOMA接入方式减少本地计算能耗、卸载能耗及计算能耗约20%;较无卸载策略方法,包含卸载策略方法在减少系统加权总能耗方面效果较为明显。     

Joint computation offloading and task caching for multi-user and multi-task MEC systems: reinforcement learning-based algorithms

Computation offloading at mobile edge computing (MEC) servers can mitigate the resource limitation and reduce the communication latency for mobile devices. Thereby, in this study, we proposed an offloading model for a multi-user MEC system with multi-task. In addition, a new caching concept is introduced for the computation tasks, where the application program and related code for the completed tasks are cached at the edge server. Furthermore, an efficient model of task offloading and caching integration is formulated as a nonlinear problem whose goal is to reduce the total overhead of time and energy. However, solving these types of problems is computationally prohibitive, especially for large-scale of mobile users. Thus, an equivalent form of reinforcement learning is created where the state spaces are defined based on all possible solutions and the actions are defined on the basis of movement between the different states. Afterwards, two effective Q-learning and Deep-Q-Network-based algorithms are proposed to derive the near-optimal solution for this problem. Finally, experimental evaluations verify that our proposed model can substantially minimize the mobile devices’ overhead by deploying computation offloading and task caching strategy reasonably.

     

MEC系统中基于多智能体深度增强学习的协作式任务卸载和资源分配

移动边缘计算(MEC)通过将计算任务卸载到MEC服务器上,在缓解智能移动设备计算负载的同时,可以降低服务时延。然而目前在MEC系统中,关于任务卸载和资源分配仍然存在以下问题：1)边缘节点间缺乏协作;2)计算任务到达与实际环境中动态变化的特征不匹配;3)协作式任务卸载和资源分配动态联合优化问题。为解决上述问题,文章在协作式MEC架构的基础上,提出了一种基于多智能体的深度确定性策略梯度算法(MADDPG)的任务卸载和资源分配算法,最小化系统中所有用户的长期平均成本。仿真结果表明,该算法可以有效降低系统的时延及能耗。     

Energy-efficient task offloading strategy in mobile edge computing for resource-intensive mobile applications

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) has been considered a promising solution that can address capacity and performance challenges in legacy systems such as Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC). In particular, such challenges include intolerable delay, congestion in the core network, insufficient Quality of Experience (QoE), high cost of resource utility, such as energy and bandwidth. The aforementioned challenges originate from limited resources in mobile devices, the multi-hop connection between end-users and the cloud, high pressure from computation-intensive and delay-critical applications. Considering the limited resource setting at the MEC, improving the efficiency of task offloading in terms of both energy and delay in MEC applications is an important and urgent problem to be solved. In this paper, the key objective is to propose a task offloading scheme that minimizes the overall energy consumption along with satisfying capacity and delay requirements. Thus, we propose a MEC-assisted energy-efficient task offloading scheme that leverages the cooperative MEC framework. To achieve energy efficiency, we propose a novel hybrid approach established based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) to solve the optimization problem. The proposed approach considers efficient resource allocation such as sub-carriers, power, and bandwidth for offloading to guarantee minimum energy consumption. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy is computational-efficient compared to benchmark methods. Moreover, it improves energy utilization, energy gain, response delay, and offloading utility.     

多小区蜂窝网络中计算卸载与资源分配联合优化算法

本文在多基站和远端云构成的多层计算卸载场景中,提出了一种多小区蜂窝网络中基站选择、计算卸载与资源分配联合优化算法.该算法考虑多基站重叠覆盖用户的基站选择,在边缘服务器计算资源约束条件下,构建了能耗与时延加权和的最小化问题,这是NP-hard问题.本文首先对单用户多基站计算卸载问题,采用拉格朗日乘子法对其进行求解;然后针...     

移动边缘计算中分布式异构任务卸载算法

随着物联网(IoT)迅速发展,移动边缘计算(MEC)在提供高性能、低延迟计算服务方面的作用日益明显。然而,在面向IoT业务的MEC(MEC-IoT)时变环境中,不同边缘设备和应用业务在时延和能耗等方面具有显著的异构性,对高效的任务卸载及资源分配构成严峻挑战。针对上述问题,该文提出一种动态的分布式异构任务卸载算法(D2HM),该算法利用分布式博弈机制并结合李雅普诺夫优化理论,设计了一种资源的动态报价机制,并实现了对不同业务类型差异化控制和计算资源的弹性按需分配,仿真结果表明,所提的算法可以满足异构任务的多样化计算需求,并在保证网络稳定性的前提下降低系统的平均时延。     

Dynamic computation offloading in time-varying environment forultra-dense networks: a stochastic game approach

To meet the demands of large-scale user access with computation-intensive and delay-sensitive applications, combining ultra-dense networks (UDNs) and mobile edge computing (MEC)are considered as important solutions. In the MEC enabled UDNs, one of the most important issues is computation offloading. Although a number of work have been done toward this issue, the problem of dynamic computation offloading in time-varying environment, especially the dynamic computation offloading problem for multi-user, has not been fully considered. Therefore, in order to fill this gap, the dynamic computation offloading problem in time-varying environment for multi-user is considered in this paper. By considering the dynamic changes of channel state and users queue state, the dynamic computation offloading problem for multi-user is formulated as a stochastic game, which aims to optimize the delay and packet loss rate of users. To find the optimal solution of the formulated optimization problem, Nash Q-learning (NQLN) algorithm is proposed which can be quickly converged to a Nash equilibrium solution. Finally, extensive simulation results are presented to demonstrate the superiority of NQLN algorithm. It is shown that NQLN algorithm has better optimization performance than the benchmark schemes.     

超密集网络中基于移动边缘计算的任务卸载和资源优化

移动边缘计算(MEC)通过在无线网络边缘为用户提供计算能力,来提高用户的体验质量。然而,MEC的计算卸载仍面临着许多问题。该文针对超密集组网(UDN)的MEC场景下的计算卸载,考虑系统总能耗,提出卸载决策和资源分配的联合优化问题。首先采用坐标下降法制定了卸载决定的优化方案。同时,在满足用户时延约束下采用基于改进的匈牙利算法和贪婪算法来进行子信道分配。然后,将能耗最小化问题转化为功率最小化问题,并将其转化为一个凸优化问题得到用户最优的发送功率。仿真结果表明,所提出的卸载方案可以在满足用户不同时延的要求下最小化系统能耗,有效地提升了系统性能。     

基于非正交多址接入的移动边缘计算安全节能联合资源分配

为提高基于非正交多址接入(NOMA)的移动边缘计算(MEC)系统中计算任务部分卸载时的安全性,该文在存在窃听者情况下研究MEC网络的物理层安全,采用保密中断概率来衡量计算卸载的保密性能,考虑发射功率约束、本地任务计算约束和保密中断概率约束,同时引入能耗权重因子以平衡传输能耗和计算能耗,最终实现系统能耗加权和最小。在满足两个用户优先级情况下,为降低系统开销,提出一种联合任务卸载和资源分配机制,通过基于二分搜索的迭代优化算法寻求问题变换后的最优解,并获得最优的任务卸载和功率分配。仿真结果表明,所提算法可有效降低系统能耗。     

基于深度强化学习的云边协同计算迁移研究

基于单一边缘节点计算、存储资源的有限性及大数据场景对高效计算服务的需求,本文提出了一种基于深度强化学习的云边协同计算迁移机制.具体地,基于计算资源、带宽和迁移决策的综合性考量,构建了一个最小化所有用户任务执行延迟与能耗权重和的优化问题.基于该优化问题提出了一个异步云边协同的深度强化学习算法,该算法充分利用了云边双方的计...     

基于Lyapunov优化的隐私感知计算卸载方法

移动边缘计算(MEC)中计算卸载决策可能暴露用户特征,导致用户被锁定。针对此问题,该文提出一种基于Lyapunov优化的隐私感知计算卸载方法。首先,该方法定义卸载任务中的隐私量,并引入隐私限制使各MEC节点上卸载任务的累积隐私量尽可能小;然后,提出假任务机制权衡终端能耗和隐私保护的关系,当系统因隐私限制无法正常执行计算卸载时,在MEC节点生成虚假的卸载任务以降低累积隐私量;最后,建立隐私感知计算卸载模型,并基于Lyapunov优化原理求解。仿真结果表明,基于Lyapunov优化的隐私感知卸载算法(LPOA)能使用户的累积隐私量稳定在0附近,且总卸载频率与不考虑隐私的决策一致,有效保护了用户隐私,同时保持了较低的平均能耗。     

Location privacy protection of maritime mobile terminals

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) can support various high-reliability and low-delay applications in Maritime Networks (MNs). However, security risks in computing task offloading exist. In this study, the location privacy leakage risk of Maritime Mobile Terminals (MMTs) is quantified during task offloading and relevant Location Privacy Protection (LPP) schemes of MMT are considered under two kinds of task offloading scenarios. In single-MMT and single-time offloading scenario, a dynamic cache and spatial cloaking-based LPP (DS-CLP) algorithm is proposed; and under the multi-MMTs and multi-time offloading scenario, a pseudonym and alterable silent period-based LPP (PA-SLP) strategy is proposed. Simulation results show that the DS-CLP can save the response time and communication cost compared with traditional algorithms while protecting the MMT location privacy. Meanwhile, extending the alterable silent period, increasing the number of MMTs in the maritime area or improving the pseudonym update probability can enhance the LPP effect of MMTs in PA-SLP. Furthermore, the study results can be effectively applied to MNs with poor communication environments and relatively insufficient computing resources.     

基于k-匿名的隐私保护计算卸载方法

针对移动边缘计算(MEC)中用户的卸载任务及卸载频率可能使用户被攻击者锁定的问题,该文提出一种基于k-匿名的隐私保护计算卸载方法.首先,该方法基于用户间卸载任务及其卸载频率的差异性,提出隐私约束并建立基于卸载频率的隐私保护计算卸载模型;然后,提出基于模拟退火的隐私保护计算卸载算法(PCOSA)求得最优的k-匿名分组结果...     

基于k-匿名的隐私保护计算卸载方法

针对移动边缘计算(MEC)中用户的卸载任务及卸载频率可能使用户被攻击者锁定的问题,该文提出一种基于k-匿名的隐私保护计算卸载方法。首先,该方法基于用户间卸载任务及其卸载频率的差异性,提出隐私约束并建立基于卸载频率的隐私保护计算卸载模型;然后,提出基于模拟退火的隐私保护计算卸载算法(PCOSA)求得最优的k-匿名分组结果和组内各任务的隐私约束频率;最后,在卸载过程中改变用户原始卸载频率满足隐私约束,最小化终端能耗。仿真结果表明,PCOSA算法能找出用户所处MEC节点下与用户卸载表现最相近的k个用户形成匿名集,有效保护了所有用户隐私。     

Secured data offloading using reinforcement learning and Markov decision process in mobile edge computing

Mobile Internet services are developing rapidly for several applications based on computational ability such as augmented/virtual reality, vehicular networks, etc. The mobile terminals are enabled using mobile edge computing (MEC) for offloading the task at the edge of the cellular networks, but offloading is still a challenging issue due to the dynamism, and uncertainty of upcoming IoT requests and wireless channel state. Moreover, securing the offloading data enhanced the challenges of computational complexities and required a secure and efficient offloading technique. To tackle the mentioned issues, a reinforcement learning-based Markov decision process offloading model is proposed that optimized energy efficiency, and mobile users' time by considering the constrained computation of IoT devices, moreover guarantees efficient resource sharing among multiple users. An advanced encryption standard is employed in this work to fulfil the requirements of data security. The simulation outputs reveal that the proposed approach surpasses the existing baseline models for offloading overhead and service cost QoS parameters ensuring secure data offloading.     

面向空天地异构网络的边缘计算部分任务卸载策略

空天地异构网络作为一种新型网络构架,是未来6G实现泛在连接的关键支撑。该文提出一种面向空天地异构网络(SAGIN)的移动边缘计算部分任务卸载方案。首先,分析了低轨(LEO)卫星的覆盖时间。其次,联合考虑用户与无人机(UAV)匹配关联因子、任务分配、带宽分配、无人机计算资源分配以及无人机轨迹,旨在建立一个能耗最小化问题。最后,采用交替迭代优化算法,将原非凸问题分解为3个子问题,并利用变量替换和连续凸逼近方法将问题转化为凸问题进行求解。仿真结果表明,所提算法具有良好的收敛性能,并有效地降低系统能耗。     

Joint offloading strategy based on quantum particle swarm optimization for MEC-enabled vehicular networks

With the development of the mobile communication technology, a wide variety of envisioned intelligent transportation systems have emerged and put forward more stringent requirements for vehicular communications. Most of computation-intensive and power-hungry applications result in a large amount of energy consumption and computation costs, which bring great challenges to the on-board system. It is necessary to exploit traffic offloading and scheduling in vehicular networks to ensure the Quality of Experience (QoE). In this paper, a joint offloading strategy based on quantum particle swarm optimization for the Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) enabled vehicular networks is presented. To minimize the delay cost and energy consumption, a task execution optimization model is formulated to assign the task to the available service nodes, which includes the service vehicles and the nearby Road Side Units (RSUs). For the task offloading process via Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communication, a vehicle selection algorithm is introduced to obtain an optimal offloading decision sequence. Next, an improved quantum particle swarm optimization algorithm for joint offloading is proposed to optimize the task delay and energy consumption. To maintain the diversity of the population, the crossover operator is introduced to exchange information among individuals. Besides, the crossover probability is defined to improve the search ability and convergence speed of the algorithm. Meanwhile, an adaptive shrinkage expansion factor is designed to improve the local search accuracy in the later iterations. Simulation results show that the proposed joint offloading strategy can effectively reduce the system overhead and the task completion delay under different system parameters.