Orchestrating Edge- and Cloud-based Predictive Analytics Services

In the Zero-touch network and service management (ZSM) architecture, devised by ETSI, making predictions on the observed data is among the functions provided by the analytics block of the control loop cycle. Prediction performance depends on several parameters, such as the utilized computational resources, the leveraged prediction techniques, the deployment location of the prediction tools with respect to the data. This paper proposes a Hybrid Forecast Framework (HFF) running at the network edge or in the cloud to provide forecasting with the performance required by the control loop cycle. Forecasting at the edge might shorten the control loop cycle if resources shall be made available locally where data is collected. However, in general, edge computational resources are less abundant than the cloud ones, thus causing longer time to perform the prediction. On the opposite, forecasting in the cloud might require more time for the data to reach the utilized tools but more computational resources could be exploited. The HFF is based on utilizing traditional time series analysis prediction algorithms to minimize the utilized resources and energy at the edge while it exploits AI/ML tools to make predictions in the cloud. Results show that for short lead time (i.e., the time, in the future, at which the status of the considered parameter is predicted) edge-based prediction exploiting time series analysis provides better accuracy, requires less resources and time (thus energy) than cloud-based prediction. However, if the lead time is long, cloud-based prediction exploiting Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) provides better accuracy. Thus, if the lead time is long, it is preferable because the long lead time compensates for the higher time for prediction, mainly due to data transfer.