PAAP: A Graph-Based VNF Deployment Framework for Embedding Bidirectional SFC in Mobile Edge Networks
Yu Xie, Dehui Ou, Zhen Zhang, Yuhui Deng, Geyong Min, Lin Cui, Zhijie Wang · IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing · 2025
In the realm of Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) networks, mobile interactive applications, such as multiplayer online games, federated learning, and interactive multi-view video, are becoming increasingly popular. The embedding of Bidirectional Service Function Chains (BSFCs) for these applications has been studied. However, existing BSFC embedding research only considers static users, and the prevailing Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) placement methods do not account for the impact of individual node resources on the path, thus failing to maximize node resource utilization at the network level. Considering the aforementioned issues, we introduce a framework for BSFC embedding tailored for mobile users, named Path as a Point (PAAP). This framework integrates the resources of the paths and then globally considers the impact of the computing resources of edge nodes on the paths connecting them, maximizing edge node resource utilization across the entire network. We propose a three-phase algorithm within the PAAP framework. In the first phase, we introduce a singleuser algorithm for VNFs deployment during BSFC embedding. In the second phase, this optimization is extended to multiple users by establishing inter-user association rules. In the third phase, candidate application placement positions are evaluated across the entire network, culminating in the determination of optimal placement strategies. Empirical evaluations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, demonstrating significant performance improvements over baseline methods.