Optimizing caching locations of popular content has received significant research attention over the last few years. This paper targets the optimization of the caching locations by proposing a novel transformation of the optimization problem to a grey-scale image that is applied to a deep convolutional neural network (CNN). The rational for the proposed modeling comes from CNN's superiority to capture features in gray-scale images reaching human level performance in image recognition problems. The CNN has been trained with optimal solutions and the numerical investigations and analyses demonstrate the promising performance of the proposed method. Therefore, for enabling real-time decision making we moving away from a strictly optimization based framework to an amalgamation of optimization with a data driven approach.
The proliferation of popular content on the Internet created a massive amount of aggregate data that need to be transported across congested links. Bringing popular content closer to the end users via caching, in order to ease congestion episodes and increase user experience, has received significant research attention over the last few years @cite_3 . At the same time there is a transformation that is taking place on the network architecture which can be defined as service oriented based on the SDN and NFV paradigms @cite_16 , @cite_7 .
@cite_16 @cite_7 @cite_3
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Abstract Today’s networks are filled with a massive and ever-growing variety of network functions that coupled with proprietary devices, which leads to network ossification and difficulty in network management and service provision. Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is a promising paradigm to change such situation by decoupling network functions from the underlying dedicated hardware and realizing them in the form of software, which are referred to as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). Such decoupling introduces many benefits which include reduction of Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operation Expense (OPEX), improved flexibility of service provision, etc. In this paper, we intend to present a comprehensive survey on NFV, which starts from the introduction of NFV motivations. Then, we explain the main concepts of NFV in terms of terminology, standardization and history, and how NFV differs from traditional middle-box based network. After that, the standard NFV architecture is introduced using a bottom up approach, based on which the corresponding use cases and solutions are also illustrated. In addition, due to the decoupling of network functionalities and hardware, people’s attention is gradually shifted to the VNFs. Next, we provide an extensive and in-depth discussion on state-of-the-art VNF algorithms including VNF placement, scheduling, migration, chaining and multicast. Finally, to accelerate the NFV deployment and avoid pitfalls as far as possible, we survey the challenges faced by NFV and the trend for future directions. In particular, the challenges are discussed from bottom up, which include hardware design, VNF deployment, VNF life cycle control, service chaining, performance evaluation, policy enforcement, energy efficiency, reliability and security, and the future directions are discussed around the current trend towards network softwarization. Communication networks are undergoing their next evolutionary step toward 5G. The 5G networks are envisioned to provide a flexible, scalable, agile, and programmable network platform over which different services with varying requirements can be deployed and managed within strict performance bounds. In order to address these challenges, a paradigm shift is taking place in the technologies that drive the networks, and thus their architecture. Innovative concepts and techniques are being developed to power the next generation mobile networks. At the heart of this development lie Network Function Virtualization and Software Defined Networking technologies, which are now recognized as being two of the key technology enablers for realizing 5G networks, and which have introduced a major change in the way network services are deployed and operated. For interested readers that are new to the field of SDN and NFV, this paper provides an overview of both these technologies with reference to the 5G networks. Most importantly, it describes how the two technologies complement each other and how they are expected to drive the networks of near future. As the explosive growth of smart devices and the advent of many new applications, traffic volume has been growing exponentially. The traditional centralized network architecture cannot accommodate such user demands due to heavy burden on the backhaul links and long latency. Therefore, new architectures, which bring network functions and contents to the network edge, are proposed, i.e., mobile edge computing and caching. Mobile edge networks provide cloud computing and caching capabilities at the edge of cellular networks. In this survey, we make an exhaustive review on the state-of-the-art research efforts on mobile edge networks. We first give an overview of mobile edge networks, including definition, architecture, and advantages. Next, a comprehensive survey of issues on computing, caching, and communication techniques at the network edge is presented. The applications and use cases of mobile edge networks are discussed. Subsequently, the key enablers of mobile edge networks, such as cloud technology, SDN NFV, and smart devices are discussed. Finally, open research challenges and future directions are presented as well.