Mobile Experts Solves the Telco MEC Puzzle

By AIT News Desk On Jul 31, 2020

New report breaks down how Telcos can share computing platforms with MEC apps

Today Mobile Experts released an Edge INSIGHT report that answers the question: can telco workloads run on the same servers as MEC apps?

The report takes a technical view of the technical requirements for Telco computing workloads, compared with other computing workloads in an Edge Computing environment. Telcos can leverage virtualized network infrastructure for edge computing services, but it’s not just a simple one-size-fits-all solution. In the report, Mobile Experts breaks down aspects of the Telco/Edge Cloud question regarding hardware, with a specific focus on x86 and ARM CPUs, FPGA acceleration, GPUs, and ASICs.

“Our approach to this analysis is to map out prospective edge applications to compute processing requirements. Then, we map computing requirements for various parts of the wireless network. Step One is to determine the purely technical question of whether a shared computing platform can work,” commented Chief Analyst Joe Madden. “Step Two involves making predictions about what operators will actually do in terms of making vCU and vDU investments, and whether they will be willing to share compute resources with MEC customers.”

Covering CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs and ASICs, the report breaks down key aspects of cloud compute processing to highlight use cases for these four types of processors. On the network side, the report considers virtual CU and virtual DU implementation, paying special attention to the User Plane Function and how a 5G network will be built.

“Linking edge infrastructure to RAN is not a hole in one deal. Some will look at a combined MEC and vRAN as a risk that could limit future flexibility. This report answers questions about where there are good synergies between the telco virtualized network and edge applications, but also whether key operators will choose that path and why.”