KR20240003645A - Method and system for edge computing USING BLOCKCHAIN - Google Patents

Abstract

When a service request message is received from a user terminal, determining a visiting MEC service providing device among a plurality of MEC service providing devices based on user information, recording user information in a blockchain, and providing visiting MEC service to the user terminal. A device that provides MEC services is provided through the step of transmitting device information.

Description

Edge computing system and method using blockchain {Method and system for edge computing USING BLOCKCHAIN}

This description relates to an edge computing system and method using blockchain.

Currently, many ICT services are provided based on the cloud. However, the centralized cloud provided by a specific cloud company may be located far away from the user, and in this case, problems may occur in providing real-time services due to delays due to the long distance. In particular, in the case of large amounts of data, various problems may occur, such as increased traffic load within the network.

One embodiment provides an MEC service providing device.

According to one embodiment, a multi-access edge computing (MEC) service providing device is provided. The MEC service providing device includes a processor, a memory, and a communication unit, and the processor executes a program stored in the memory to provide a plurality of MEC services based on the user information when a service request message is received from the user terminal. The following steps are performed: determining a visiting MEC service providing device among devices, recording the user information in a blockchain, and transmitting information on the visiting MEC service providing device to the user terminal.

The user terminal can receive services from the MEC service provider that can best satisfy the user's service requirements through the MEC federation service system in which a plurality of MEC service providers are configured in the form of peers. In addition, transparent revenue distribution between MEC service providers can be guaranteed by using the integrity charging information of the blockchain, and authentication and authority verification of the user terminal are performed using the authentication and authorization information for the user terminal recorded in the blockchain. This can be done.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the structure between a centralized cloud and MEC according to an embodiment.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing a distributed MEC federation service system according to an embodiment.
Figure 3 is a flowchart showing how the distributed MEC federation service system provides services to user terminals according to an embodiment.
Figure 4 is a flowchart showing how a distributed MEC federation service system provides services to a user terminal according to another embodiment.
Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an MEC service provision unit according to an embodiment.

Below, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention. However, the present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In order to clearly explain the description in the drawings, parts that are not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are given similar reference numerals throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to “include” a certain element, this means that it may further include other elements rather than excluding other elements, unless specifically stated to the contrary.

In this specification, expressions described as singular may be interpreted as singular or plural, unless explicit expressions such as “one” or “single” are used.

As used herein, “and/or” includes each and every combination of one or more of the mentioned components.

In this specification, terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may be referred to as a first component without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In the flowcharts described herein with reference to the drawings, the order of operations may be changed, several operations may be merged, certain operations may be divided, and certain operations may not be performed.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing a comparison of a centralized cloud and MEC according to an embodiment.

Figure 1 shows a centralized cloud and multi-access edge computing (MEC) system. Referring to Figure 1, MEC can process large amounts of data at a location close to the user (e.g., an access network, etc.), resulting in various advantages such as reduced service delay, reduced network traffic load, and lightweight user terminal. You can. Due to these advantages, MEC has recently been considered a core technology for realizing next-generation services that require ultra-low latency and large-capacity data processing, such as AR/VR and autonomous vehicles.

When services are provided based on MEC, the requirements for computing performance can be relatively lower compared to existing centralized clouds because the MEC system is located closer to users and services can be provided to fewer users than traditional clouds. there is. However, in order for the MEC system to service a large area, a large-scale infrastructure including a large number of MEC systems is required, and it may be difficult for one MEC service provider to handle all the large-scale infrastructure. To solve this problem, a federation structure that provides services to a large area through an alliance between multiple MEC service providers is being considered. Through this federation structure, the service areas of individual MEC service providers can be expanded and users can receive services in a wider area. When MEC services are formed in a federation, users can receive services from the operator located the shortest distance from their current location or from the operator that guarantees the required performance.

In the MEC joint service structure described herein, a user who subscribes to a specific service provider can receive services from another service provider that can provide the optimal service in the current location. In addition, by providing AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) functions through a distributed system using blockchain, authentication, authorization, and billing can be handled transparently and fairly when users use services from other service providers. .

In other words, according to this description, in the MEC federation service environment where multiple MEC service providers provide MEC services through federation, the user receives the optimal service among the MEC service providers participating in the federation based on the user's current location. You can receive services from service providers that can provide them. In addition, in the MEC joint service environment, authentication, authority verification, and billing information for users are managed in a distributed manner using a private blockchain composed of nodes of MEC service providers, providing optimal service to service users. Experience can be provided.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing a distributed MEC federation service system according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the MEC federation service system 100 according to one embodiment may include a MEC federation service provider 110 and a blockchain 120. Blockchain 120 is a private blockchain system and may be composed of nodes of each service provider.

The MEC joint service providing unit 110 may include a plurality of MEC service providing units (MEC_h, MEC_v1, ..., MEC_vn). Each MEC service provider can join the MEC federation service system according to a predetermined agreement, and information (e.g. location, service provision ability, etc.) of different MEC service providers subscribed to the MEC federation service system is stored in a database (DB_h). , DB_v1, ??, DB_vn).

The user terminal subscribes to a specific MEC service providing unit (MEC_h) of the MEC federation service providing unit 110 and receives MEC from one or more of the other MEC service providing units (MEC_v1, ??, MEC_n) of the MEC federation service providing unit 110. Services can be provided. The service provider that provides services to the user terminal may be a system of an MEC service provider that is closest to the user terminal or can best satisfy the service requirements of the user terminal.

The MEC service provider, which provides services to user terminals, forms a node of the private blockchain and can perform authentication, authority verification, and accounting (AAA) functions for user terminals moving within the service area through the private blockchain. there is. Here, the service area may be an area where services can be provided by a plurality of MEC service providers of the MEC joint service provider 110.

As described above, information from other MEC service providers can be managed by a database within each MEC service provider, and if necessary, a private blockchain may be utilized to manage the information of the MEC information provider.

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing how the distributed MEC federation service system provides services to user terminals according to an embodiment.

In Figure 3, a user terminal that has subscribed to the MEC service provider MEC_h (home MEC service provider) can receive services from another MEC service provider MEC_v1 (visited MEC service provider).

Referring to FIG. 3, the user terminal may first initiate the MEC service (S105) and transmit a service request message to request service from the home MEC service provider (MEC_h) (S110). Here, the service request message may include the source IP address (IP_s) of the user terminal and login information (login) registered in advance with the home MEC service provider.

The home MEC service provider may determine one of the other associated MEC service providers by referring to the source IP address of the service request message of the user terminal (DB lookup & service provider selection) (S115). Another MEC service provider selected by the home MEC service provider is the optimal MEC service provider in terms of performance and location with the user terminal. Information on other MEC service providers managed by the home MEC service provider may be pre-stored in a database within the home MEC service provider.

The home MEC service provider may provide the user terminal with information on the MEC service provider (i.e., the visiting MEC service provider) that will provide the MEC service to the user terminal (service response) (S120). Information on the visited MEC service provider (MEC_v1) may include the IP address (IP_MEC_v1) of the MEC_v1 service provider. The home MEC service provider may transmit the user information of the user to the visiting MEC service provider (MEC_v1) (S125). Alternatively, the home MEC service provider may use various methods to transmit the user information to the visiting MEC service provider. For example, the home MEC service provider can record the user information of the user terminal that requested the service in the blockchain (S130), allowing the MEC service provider to refer to the user information.

The user terminal may request a service from the visiting MEC service provider using its login information (login) based on the information received from the home MEC service provider (S135).

The visiting MEC service provider may authenticate the user terminal based on the information received from the home MEC service provider and provide MEC service to the user terminal based on the authentication result of the user terminal (service provision) (S140). When user information is recorded in the blockchain, the visiting MEC service provider can refer to the user information on the blockchain (S145).

The user terminal may receive the MEC service from the visiting MEC service provider (S150). Afterwards, when the user terminal has finished using the service, it may transmit a termination request message requesting termination of the service to the visiting MEC service provider (S155). When a termination request message is received from the user terminal, the visiting MEC service provider can terminate the service and record the provision details of the terminated service in the blockchain (service information provision) (S160). The service provision history can be recorded as transaction information on the blockchain (transaction recording) (S165), and thereafter, each operator within the MEC Alliance Service Provider provides charging information for the user terminal recorded on the blockchain according to a predetermined contract. Income can be distributed based on Here, the billing information of the user terminal recorded in the blockchain may be information whose integrity is guaranteed.

Figure 4 is a flowchart showing how a distributed MEC federation service system provides services to user terminals according to another embodiment.

The blockchain described above can be used not only for charging user terminals, but also for authentication and authority verification. Figure 4 explains the case of using blockchain for authentication and authority verification.

Referring to FIG. 4, the home MEC service provider (MEC_h) can register the public key (K _pub ) of the registered user or user terminal in the blockchain (key registration) (S210). If necessary, the home MEC service provider can store the user's subscription information (Sub_info) in the blockchain along with the public key.

The user terminal may request MEC service from the visiting MEC service provider (MEC_v1) provided in step S120 of FIG. 3 (service request) (S220). The visiting MEC service provider can receive the public key (K _pub ) and subscription information (Sub_info) of the user terminal stored in the blockchain from the blockchain (key retrival) (S230). Here, the user's subscription information (Sub_info) can be transmitted to the visiting MEC service provider along with the user's public key. The visiting MEC service provider provides authentication and authority to the user terminal based on the public key information/subscription information of the user terminal received from the blockchain and the private key (K _pri ) of the user terminal held by the user terminal. Authorization can be performed (S240).

The visiting MEC service provider according to one embodiment may encrypt information using the public key of the user terminal and transmit the encrypted information to the user terminal. Here, the information encrypted with the public key may be information necessary for authentication/authority verification of the user or user terminal. The user terminal that receives the encrypted information from the visiting MEC service provider decrypts the encrypted information using the private key of the user terminal and processes using the decrypted information (for example, the decrypted information is sent to the visiting MEC service provider transmission to the user, transmitting the information determined from the decrypted information to the visiting MEC service provider, etc.) can be performed. The visiting MEC service provider may authenticate the user or the user terminal and/or complete authority verification after processing using the decrypted information by the user terminal.

As explained above, the MEC federation service system consists of multiple MEC service providers in the form of peers, and the user terminal is controlled by the MEC service provider that can best satisfy the user's service requirements among the MEC service providers. You can receive service. In addition, transparent profit distribution among MEC service providers can be ensured by using the integrity charging information of the blockchain. Additionally, using the authentication and authorization information for the user terminal recorded in the blockchain, the visiting MEC service provider can perform authentication and authorization verification for the user terminal.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an MEC service provision unit according to an embodiment.

The MEC service provider according to one embodiment may be implemented as a computer system, for example, a computer-readable medium. Referring to FIG. 5, the computer system 500 includes a processor 510, a memory 530, an input interface device 550, an output interface device 560, and a storage device 540 that communicate through a bus 570. ) may include at least one of Computer system 500 may also include a communication device 520 coupled to a network. The processor 510 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a semiconductor device that executes instructions stored in the memory 530 or the storage device 540. Memory 530 and storage device 540 may include various types of volatile or non-volatile storage media. For example, memory may include read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). In embodiments of the present disclosure, the memory may be located inside or outside the processor, and the memory may be connected to the processor through various known means. Memory is various forms of volatile or non-volatile storage media, for example, memory may include read-only memory (ROM) or random access memory (RAM).

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as a computer-implemented method or as a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions. In one embodiment, when executed by a processor, computer readable instructions may perform a method according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

The communication device 520 can transmit or receive wired signals or wireless signals.

Meanwhile, the embodiments of the present invention are not only implemented through the apparatus and/or method described so far, but may also be implemented through a program that realizes the function corresponding to the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention or a recording medium on which the program is recorded. This implementation can be easily implemented by anyone skilled in the art from the description of the above-described embodiments. Specifically, methods according to embodiments of the present invention (e.g., network management method, data transmission method, transmission schedule creation method, etc.) are implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means, and are stored in a computer-readable medium. can be recorded The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., singly or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium may be specially designed and configured for embodiments of the present invention, or may be known and usable by those skilled in the art of computer software. A computer-readable recording medium may include a hardware device configured to store and perform program instructions. For example, computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and floptical disks. It may be the same magneto-optical media, ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. Program instructions may include not only machine language code such as that created by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer through an interpreter, etc.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention defined in the following claims are also possible. It falls within the scope of rights.

Claims (1)

As a multi-access edge computing (MEC) service providing device,
It includes a processor, a memory, and a communication unit, wherein the processor executes a program stored in the memory,
When a service request message is received from a user terminal, determining a visiting MEC service providing device among a plurality of MEC service providing devices based on user information;
Recording the user information in blockchain, and
Passing information about the visited MEC service providing device to the user terminal.
MEC service providing device that performs.

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