New ETSI White Paper on Enhanced DNS Support in Distributed MEC Environments

Sophia Antipolis, 8 September 2020

Today ETSI announces the publication of its White Paper on DNS Support in Distributed MEC Environments. DNS (Domain Name System) is a key infrastructure element in any distributed edge cloud as it is used to ensure that modern (i.e. URL/URI-based) services requests are resolved to the properly located service instances. The best instance may often be decided based on properties other than location, e.g., service latency, resource availability as well as the device identifier.

A proper DNS design is thus central to both satisfy MEC SLAs and manage an operator’s edge cloud resources. The ETSI White Paper recognizes that different edge cloud realities require different approaches towards system design. Thus, the paper starts with highlighting some key use-cases needed to appreciate the requirements that drive design decisions.

Based on these use cases and requirements, a second part describes potential deployment options including extensions of the current DNS support. Those are classified into two categories depending on associating network, 3GPP specific ones and generally applicable ones.

Finally, this White Paper concludes with a summary of some potential solutions that can satisfy the requirements highlighted in the paper. These solutions let the MEC provider select the most suitable for their own situation together with mobile network operators, application providers, and other relating service providers.

Alex Reznik, Chair of ETSI ISG MEC said: “The publication of this White Paper highlights ETSI MEC’s continued commitment to use the combined expertise of our membership to help the community address the challenges of deployment of MEC beyond just standards development. With contributions from some of the leading operators and solution providers in the world, this Paper provides valuable insights on a key topic for successful MEC implementation.” 

To learn more about Enhanced DNS Support in Distributed MEC Environments, read the full ETSI White Paper on our website.