QCSS: A QoE-Aware Control Plane for Adaptive Streaming Service over Mobile Edge Computing Infrastructures

Abstract

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) is designed to extend the edge of the cloud network to decrease latency and network congestion, which would significantly improve the quality of experience (QoE) of adaptive streaming service for mobile users. This paper proposes QCSS, a QoE-aware control plane for adaptive streaming service over MEC infrastructures. QCSS aims to assure high QoE delivery of online streaming service to mobile users. The design of QCSS features: 1) a timeslot system with a look-ahead window for calculating cost of edge node switch and video quality adaption (to balance network load and reduce latency); 2) conducting service adaption via a set of cooperative action components running on client devices, edge nodes, and center nodes (to ensure a smooth viewing experience); 3) constructing a flexible QoE model and extending the scope and meaning of user-perceived experience. The effectiveness of QCSS has been validated via three real datasets. The validation results show that the proposed QCSS can improve QoE performance and network load performance for adaptive streaming service over MEC Infrastructures.