Follow me cloud: interworking federated clouds and distributed mobile networks

TLDR

The article introduces the Follow‑Me Cloud concept and proposes a framework for seamless migration of IP services between a data center and mobile user equipment to an optimal data center without service disruption. Migration is enabled by replacing IP addresses with dynamic service identifiers that encode the UE, cloud service, and service characteristics, and by logic at the UE and data centers that maps IP flow features to these identifiers, selecting an optimal data center when the UE’s IP changes due to mobility or load balancing. The proposed system achieves smooth service migration and continuity, as demonstrated by the UE and data center logic that maps IP flow features to session/service IDs.

Abstract

This article introduces the Follow-Me Cloud concept and proposes its framework. The proposed framework is aimed at smooth migration of all or only a required portion of an ongoing IP service between a data center and user equipment of a 3GPP mobile network to another optimal DC with no service disruption. The service migration and continuity is supported by replacing IP addressing with service identification. Indeed, an FMC service/application is identified, upon establishment, by a session/service ID, dynamically changing along with the service being delivered over the session; it consists of a unique identifier of UE within the 3GPP mobile network, an identifier of the cloud service, and dynamically changing characteristics of the cloud service. Service migration in FMC is triggered by change in the IP address of the UE due to a change of data anchor gateway in the mobile network, in turn due to UE mobility and/or for load balancing. An optimal DC is then selected based on the features of the new data anchor gateway. Smooth service migration and continuity are supported thanks to logic installed at UE and DCs that maps features of IP flows to the session/service ID.