Improving content delivery efficiency through multi-layer mobile edge adaptation

This article presents a novel architecture for optimizing HTTP-based multimedia delivery in multi-user mobile networks. This proposal combines the usual client-driven dynamic adaptation scheme DASH-3GPP with network-assisted adaptation capabilities, in order to maximize the overall quality of experience. The foundation of this combined adaptation scheme is based on two state of the art technologies. On one hand, adaptive HTTP streaming with multi-layer encoding allows efficient media delivery and improves the experienced media quality in highly dynamic channels. Additionally, it makes it possible to implement network-level adaptations for better coping with multi-user scenarios. On the other hand, mobile edge computing facilitates the deployment of mobile services close to the user. This approach brings new possibilities in modern and future mobile networks, such as close to zero delays and awareness of the radio status. The proposal in this article introduces a novel element, called the mobile edge-DASH adaptation function, which combines all these advantages to support efficient media delivery in mobile multi-user scenarios. Furthermore, we evaluate the performance enhancements of this content-aware and user context-aware scheme through simulations of a mobile multimedia scenario.