CACTSE: Cloudlet aided cooperative terminals service environment for mobile proximity content delivery

Along with the rapid development of communications, the Internet, and smart terminals, mobile Internet has become a hot topic with both opportunities and challenges. In this article, a new perspective on edge content delivery service for mobile Internet is described, based on cooperating terminals. A mobile cloud architecture named Cloudlet Aided Cooperative Terminals Service Environment (CACTSE) is proposed as an edge network service environment. The Service Manager (SM), a cloudlet like module, is introduced into the local service domain in order to manage the in-domain terminals and help coordinate the content delivery requests for better bandwidth efficiency as well as user experience. The reference model is presented in this article with architecture and mechanism design. Moreover, the research progress and potential technology trends of CACTSE are analysed based on the related R&D directions.