Can mobile cloudlets support mobile applications?

A mobile cloudlet is a set of resource-rich mobile devices - referred to as cloudlet nodes - that an initiator mobile device can connect to for services. In this paper, we examine the fundamental mobile cloudlet properties that unfold whether and when a mobile cloudlet can provide mobile application service. Specifically, we investigate the cloudlet size, cloudlet node´s lifetime and reachable time. Traces and mathematical analysis demonstrate that 1) the more frequently mobile devices meet, the larger the pool of computing resources an initiator can access; 2) intermittent connection between devices has little adverse effect on the optimal computing performance of mobile cloudlet in the long run; 3) the ratio E(T_C)/[E(T_I)+E(T_C)] indicates the connection likelihood of an initiator and a cloudlet node (i.e., reachability of the cloudlet node), where T_C and T_I are their contact and inter-contact time. We further derive upper and lower bounds on computing capacity and computing speed of a mobile cloudlet. An initiator can use both bounds to decide whether to offload its task to remote clouds or local mobile cloudlets for better mobile application services.