Figure 6.4.11 depicts an exemplary topology of a MEC system consisting of four MEC hosts within which MEC platforms run different MEC services. Furthermore, a MEPM, a MEO, as well as the various interfaces/interconnections between these entities explained above, are shown. Specifically: Mm3 interface connecting the MEO with the MEPM; Mm5 interface connecting the MEPM with the MEC platform; Mp3 interface inter-connecting the MEC hosts of the system; Mp1 and Mp2 within each MEC host. It is further assumed that a MEC application is running on MEC host 1, which is potentially in need of consuming some of MEC services 1, 2, 3, and 4. To evaluate the cost of consuming a specific MEC service by the MEC application, the proximities of MEC hosts 2, 3, and 4 need to be measured (having MEC host 1 as a reference), classified according to a performance or a cost metric, and stored in the MEC system. The MEO is the entity responsible for gathering, classifying, and storing the proximity measurements, as it has an overall view of the MEC system topology, the available resources, and the available MEC services (MEC003). Therefore, to accomplish that procedure, the Service MEC platform MEC data plane MEC orchestrator MEC Host #2 Service. MEC app platform rules & MEC platform Service 3 element reats lifecycle MEC platform MEC data plane MEC platform manager MEC data plane MEC Host #1 MEC Host #3 Service 4 MEC platform MEC data plane MEC Host #4 Figure 6.4.11 Exemplary topology of a MEC system consisting of four MEC hosts; a MEC app is running at MEC host 1. 6.4 Multi-Access Edge Computing Table 6.4.1 MEC hosts divided into proximity zones according to a certain criterion. Proximity zone Minimum cost Maximum cost (units) MEC hosts of the zone 1, 2, 4 1, 2, 3, 4 MEO will construct a table defining zones (i.e. clusters of MEC hosts), based on the latency (or, any other performance/cost-based utility) of reaching the reference MEC host running the MEC app (i.e. MEC host 1 in our example). As an example, Table 6.4.1 together with Figu