Improving Multi-Model Anomaly Traffic Detection in MEC Networks With Large-Model- Powered Continuous Learning

Anomaly traffic detection offers essential technical support for securing Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) networks. The emerging Large Model (LM) has attracted much attention for their excellent data generation and processing capabilities, but it is difficult to deploy LM-based detection models in resource-constrained MEC networks. Existing solutions usually compress large models into tiny ones, but they tend to be impacted by data drift, resulting in decreased detection accuracy. To address this key challenge, we propose CL4Det, a novel multi-model anomaly traffic detection framework with LM-powered continuous learning, where the tiny models deployed in MEC networks can achieve the desired performance comparable to the large models via continuous retraining. Specifically, CL4Det periodically evaluates the model performance degradation caused by data drift in MEC networks and decides whether to generate retraining tasks and their configurations. Meanwhile, CL4Det schedules all traffic detection and retraining tasks with proper resource allocation, aiming to ensure real-time detection and maximize model accuracy. A case study with real-world traffic datasets verifies the effectiveness and superiority of CL4Det. Finally, we outline the challenges and future directions to fully exploit the collaborative potentials of MEC networks and LM in anomaly traffic detection.