Multipath connectivity for edge locations in a cloud provider network
Disclosed are various embodiments that provide multipath connectivity between edge locations and regions in a cloud provider network. In one embodiment, data is received at a provider substrate extension of a cloud provider network, where the data is to be transmitted to a destination in a data center of the cloud provider network. The provider substrate extension is at an edge location of the cloud provider network. The data is transmitted to a destination in the data center of the cloud provider network via a plurality of communication links from the edge location to the data center.
1 . A system, comprising:
a radio access network (RAN) providing network connectivity to a plurality of client devices, a distributed unit (DU) of the RAN being at least partly implemented at an edge location of a cloud provider network;
a core network implementing one or more network functions for the RAN, the core network being at least partly implemented in a data center of the cloud provider network;
a centralized unit (CU) of the RAN being at least partly implemented in the data center of the cloud provider network;
a plurality of communication links between the edge location and the data center, at least two of the plurality of communication links being different types of communication links; and
wherein the DU is configured to transmit data via the plurality of communication links to the CU and the core network.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the RAN is partly implemented at the data center.
3 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one computing device configured to at least:
identify the plurality of communication links based at least in part on at least one of: a cost parameter, a latency parameter, a throughput parameter, or a reliability parameter; and
cause the plurality of communication links to be allocated between the edge location and the data center for use by the RAN.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the DU is configured to at least:
transmit a first copy of the data via a first communication link of the plurality of communication links; and
transmit a second copy of the data via a second communication link of the plurality of communication links.
5 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
receiving data at an edge location of a cloud provider network from a distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN), the data to be transmitted to a centralized unit (CU) of the RAN in a data center of the cloud provider network; and
transmitting the data to the CU in the data center of the cloud provider network via a plurality of communication links from the edge location to the data center, the plurality of communication links comprising at least two different types of communication links.
6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein a particular communication link of the plurality of communication links comprises a radio-based link connecting a first cell site in a radio-based network with a second cell site in the radio-based network, and the first cell site corresponds to the edge location.
7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , further comprising selecting a particular communication link of the plurality of communication links for transmitting a first portion of the data based at least in part on a data transfer limit of one or more of the plurality of communication links.
8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , further comprising selecting a first communication link of the plurality of communication links for transmitting a first portion of the data based at least in part on at least one of: a failure of a second communication link of the plurality of communication links, or link quality data provided by the CU.
9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , further comprising determining to utilize at least two of the plurality of communication links based at least in part on a latency sensitivity associated with the data.
10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , further comprising determining to utilize at least two of the plurality of communication links to increase throughput in transmitting the data.
11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein transmitting the data to the CU further comprises transmitting a respective copy of the data via each of the plurality of communication links.
12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein transmitting the data to the destination further comprises:
transmitting a first portion of the data via a first communication link of the plurality of communication links; and
transmitting a second portion of the data via a second communication link of the plurality of communication links.
13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the edge location corresponds to a cell site of the RAN, and at least one core network function of the RAN is at least partly implemented by the data center.
14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the edge location hosts the DU.
15 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
receiving a first copy of data sent by a distributed unit (DU) of a radio access network (RAN) at an edge location of a cloud provider network to a centralized unit (CU) of the RAN in a data center of the cloud provider network via a first communication link; and
receiving a second copy of the data sent by the DU to the destination via a second communication link, the second copy being received after the first copy, the first and second communication links corresponding to different types of communication links.
16 . The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising discarding the second copy of the data.
17 . The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , wherein the first copy of the data and the second copy of the data are received by an intermediate host in the data center, and the method further comprises:
forwarding, by the intermediate host, the first copy of the data to the CU; and
discarding, by the intermediate host, the second copy of the data.
18 . The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising:
reconstituting the first copy of the data from a first set of data fragments received via the first communication link; and
reconstituting the second copy of the data from a second set of data fragments received via the second communication link, the second set of data fragments differing from the first set of data fragments.
19 . The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising transmitting, to the sender, link quality data based at least in part on the first copy being received before the second copy.
20 . The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , wherein at least one of the DU or CU handles Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) processing for the RAN, and the data relates to PDCP.