Page 15 - ITU Journal Future and evolving technologies – Volume 2 (2021), Issue 2

ITU Journal on Future and Evolving Technologies, Volume 2 (2021), Issue 2

SEAMLESS COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES IN MOBILE CLOUD COMPUTING: A SURVEY

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Pagoui Lagabka Constant , Ahyoung Lee , Kun Suo , Donghyun Kim 2
1 Department of Computer Science, Kennesaw State University, Marietta GA 30060, USA, Department of Computer
2
Science, Georgia State University Atlanta GA 30303, USA
NOTE: Corresponding author: Ahyoung Lee, alee146@kennesaw.edu

Abstract – Achieving seamless communication and smooth service provision between the cloud and end user’s mobile device
is one of the main challenges existing in mobile cloud environments. Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) allows cloud environ‑
ments to mitigate resource limitation problems for mobile devices. The most popular mobile devices such as smartphones,
autonomous vehicles, drones, and other smart electronic equipment are in constant motion and frequently change their point
of connection (base station or edge) to mobile computing networks. In these situations of mobility, the data being transmit‑
ted, and the services being provided to the device should not be interrupted as the proper function of the device depends on
these services. Applications that rely heavily on data and services stored in the cloud environment should be available even
when the device has moved from one pole to another. Various existing generic surveys emphasize important solutions to some
of the challenges faced in MCC. Different solutions were proposed to achieve seamless communication in MCC, presenting the
taxonomy of the interworking and mobility techniques and their possibilities. However, they have not provided a clear evalu‑
ation of MCC techniques for achieving seamless communication and service provision, and have not taken into consideration
current technological advances such as 5G, femtocell, etc. In this paper, we provide a survey of the different solutions proposed
to achieve seamless communication in MCC by taking current technological advances into account. Furthermore, some short‑
comings associated with the presented methods are outlined, along with the current issues and research challenges faced
in MCC. However, for the purposes of data protection and security, previously proposed schemes already achieve the goal of
protecting users’ attribute privacy and they have the same access policy; some can even achieve full security, but they are just
limited in decryption ef iciency.
Keywords – 5G, cloud computing, handover, LTE, mobile cloud computing, mobile cloud environment, mobile networking.

1. INTRODUCTION Several techniques to provide seamless communication
in MCC environments have been introduced over the
Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) is built based on concepts years. And then, there are various existing generic sur‑
of cloud computing and mobile computing as the combi‑
veys that emphasize the importance of MCC, the different
nation of cloud computing technologies with mobile de‑
approaches to achieve seamless communication in MCC,
vices to bring rich computational resources and services
and the challenges and the taxonomy for the classi ication
to mobile users, network operators, and cloud comput‑
of the interworking and mobility techniques. However,
ing providers. The exponential growth and expansion of they have not provided a clear evaluation of MCC tech‑
mobile networks with an approximate 12.3 billion of in‑ niques for achieving seamless communication and ser‑
terconnected mobile devices throughout the world [1] de‑ vice provision, and have not taken into consideration cur‑
mand more than just conventional network capabilities to rent technological advances.
operate lawlessly. There is an obvious and urgent need
to maintain seamless communication between the user Although current research advances in networking have
equipment and the edge cloud while the user is mobile provided a plethora of solutions, achieving seamless com‑
and guaranteeing the user’s data security and privacy. munication between the user equipment (UE) and MCC
Also, with the deployment of ifth generation, 5G, wire‑ environments remains one of the main challenges in MCC.
less networks, which is expected to lead the mobile net‑ Most mobile devices such as smart phones, autonomous
working technology and the proliferation of IoT devices, vehicles, drones, and other smart electronic equipment
most of the mobile network’s parameters have changed are in constant motion and may lose connectivity to the
as follows: bandwidth has increased, throughput has got‑ edge cloud for a short amount of time changing their
ten better, latency has been reduced, and a wider range point of connection (base station or edge). In such situ‑
coverage is now provided. With these changes comes a ations, the data being transmitted, and the services being
range of challenges, such as adapting existing solutions provided to the device should not be interrupted as the
and techniques for maintaining seamless communication, proper function of the device depends on these services.
to the new MCC environment and providing high avail‑ Unfortunately, seamlessly executing computation‑
ability and reliability from a rich volume of computational intensive applications in MCC environments is still com‑
resources. plex. Several factors must be taken into consideration in

© International Telecommunication Union, 2021 1