Multi-provider caching in multi-tier fog networks

The rapid growth of video streaming services and the increasing coexistence of multiple content providers have placed significant demands on network infrastructure. Efficient content caching is crucial to improving user experience and optimizing network resource utilization. Traditional content delivery networks (CDNs) struggle to meet the dynamic requirements of multi-provider environments. In this paper, we address the problem of multi-provider content caching by adopting fog computing to leverage localized storage and processing capabilities. To this extent, we develop CAMP (Cluster-Aware Multi-Provider Caching), a novel cooperative caching framework designed for multi-tier fog architectures. CAMP consists of two phases: resource allocation and content placement. In particular, the first phase clusters users based on location and provider affiliation, hierarchically assigns fog nodes using a fuzzy membership model, and partitions fog storage proportionally among clusters. The second phase employs a cooperative content placement algorithm that dynamically adjusts content redundancy based on popularity to ensure high availability for popular content while minimizing redundancy for infrequently accessed data. Through extensive simulation using real-world datasets, CAMP demonstrates up to 71% reduction in latency and substantial improvement in fog hit ratios, outperforming state-of-the-art caching strategies.