A reliable edge server placement strategy based on DDPG in the Internet of Vehicles

In the Internet of Vehicles, low service delay and fast response are two essential factors to ensure the safety and smooth operation of vehicle networking. As core technologies, the 5G and edge computing networks play a fundamental role in reducing the pressure on the backbone network of vehicle networking and decreasing the service exchange delay. The previous edge server placement strategy can not be directly applied to deploying vehicle networking services, resulting in the degradation of system performance and user quality of experience. To solve the above problem, we propose a reliable edge server deployment algorithm called CFD based on Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG). Firstly, the Canopy algorithm is used to cluster the location information of roadside units, and the initial cluster number is obtained. Then, the fuzzy C clustering algorithm (FCM) is leveraged to remove the "noise" and acquire the roadside units’ initial division and priority matrix. Finally, based on the DDPG algorithm, the optimal division of roadside units is obtained, and the cluster center is utilized as the deployment location of the edge server. Many experiments have been conducted, and the results show that, compared with the benchmark algorithm, the CFD algorithm improves the load balancing degree by 25%.