Mobile edge computing (MEC) integrates computing resources in wireless access networks to process computational tasks in close proximity to mobile users with low latency. This paper investigates the task assignment problem for cooperative MEC networks in which a set of geographically distributed heterogeneous edge servers not only cooperate with remote cloud data centers but also help each other to jointly process user tasks. We introduce a novel stochastic MEC cooperation framework to model the edge-to-edge horizontal cooperation and the edge-to-cloud vertical cooperation. The task assignment optimization problem is formulated by taking into consideration dynamic network states, uncertain node computing capabilities and task arrivals, as well as the heterogeneity of the involved entities. We then develop and compare three task assignment algorithms, based on different deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approaches, value-based, policy-based, and hybrid approaches. In addition, to reduce the search space and computation complexity of the algorithms, we propose decomposition and function approximation techniques by leveraging the structure of the underlying problem. The evaluation results show that the proposed DRL-based task assignment schemes outperform the existing algorithms, and the hybrid actor-critic scheme performs the best under dynamic MEC network environments.

This paper investigates the task management for cooperative mobile edge computing (MEC), where a set of geographically distributed heterogeneous edge nodes not only cooperate with remote cloud data centers but also help each other to jointly process tasks and support real-time IoT applications at the edge of the network. Especially, we address the challenges in optimizing assignment of the tasks to the nodes under dynamic network environments when the task arrivals, node computing capabilities, and network states are nonstationary and unknown a priori. We propose a novel stochastic framework to model the interactions of the involved entities, including the edge-to-edge horizontal cooperation and the edge-to-cloud vertical cooperation. The task assignment problem is formulated and the algorithm is developed based on online reinforcement learning to optimize the performance for task processing while capturing various dynamics and heterogeneities of node computing capabilities and network conditions with no requirement for prior knowledge of them. Further, by leveraging the structure of the underlying problem, a post-decision state is introduced and a function decomposition technique is proposed, which are incorporated with reinforcement learning to reduce the search space and computation complexity. The evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed online learning-based scheme outperforms the state-of-the-art benchmark algorithms.

Wireless data traffic, especially video traffic, continues to increase at a rapid rate. Innovative network architectures and protocols are needed to improve the efficiency of data delivery and the quality of experience (QoE) of mobile users. Mobile edge computing (MEC) is a new paradigm that integrates computing capabilities at the edge of the wireless network. This paper presents a computation‐capable and programmable wireless access network architecture to enable more efficient and robust video content delivery based on the MEC concept. It incorporates in‐network data processing and communications under a unified software‐defined networking platform. To address the multiple resource management challenges that arise in exploiting such integration, we propose a framework to optimize the QoE for multiple video streams, subject to wireless transmission capacity and in‐network computation constraints. We then propose two simplified algorithms for resource allocation. The evaluation results demonstrate the benefits of the proposed algorithms for the optimization of video content delivery.