Resource Allocation and Placement in Multi-access Edge Computing

The proliferation of smart terminals has propelled the rapid growth of Internet of Everything applications, placing substantial demands on the development of information infrastructures and mobile network environments. Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) has emerged as an effective solution to meet these demands, providing a distributed computing environment and cloud-like services at the network edge. This enables more efficient utilization of distributed resources, mitigating issues such as high network latency and heavy workload pressure on the core network. However, MEC faces significant challenges as the demand for mobile services continues to grow. The limited resources at the edge, compared to the remote cloud, make it challenging to meet business requirements seamlessly and universally. Additionally, achieving reasonable deployment becomes a focal point in constructing MEC platforms due to economic costs and spatial constraints. Addressing these obstacles necessitates adept management and strategic placement of edge resources to optimize resource utilization, directly impacting service quality and user experience. In light of these considerations, this chapter presents a comprehensive overview and in-depth discussion of resource allocation and placement in MEC, covering MEC scenarios, optimization objectives, and resource allocation and placement issues. The chapter also explores open challenges and provides insights into future research.