MAARS: Multiagent Actor-Critic Approach for Resource Allocation and Network Slicing in Multiaccess Edge Computing

Abstract

This paper presents a novel algorithm to address resource allocation and network-slicing challenges in multiaccess edge computing (MEC) networks. Network slicing divides a physical network into virtual slices, each tailored to efficiently allocate resources and meet diverse service requirements. To maximize the completion rate of user-computing tasks within these slices, the problem is decomposed into two subproblems: efficient core-to-edge slicing (ECS) and autonomous resource slicing (ARS). ECS facilitates collaborative resource distribution through cooperation among edge servers, while ARS dynamically manages resources based on real-time network conditions. The proposed solution, a multiagent actor-critic resource scheduling (MAARS) algorithm, employs a reinforcement learning framework. Specifically, MAARS utilizes a multiagent deep deterministic policy gradient (MADDPG) for efficient resource distribution in ECS and a soft actor-critic (SAC) technique for robust real-time resource management in ARS. Simulation results demonstrate that MAARS outperforms benchmark algorithms, including heuristic-based, DQN-based, and A2C-based methods, in terms of task completion rates, resource utilization, and convergence speed. Thus, this study offers a scalable and efficient framework for resource optimization and network slicing in MEC networks, providing practical benefits for real-world deployments and setting a new performance benchmark in dynamic environments.