MEC Capacity Calculator
Size multi-access edge compute: offloaded traffic, edge server count and the round-trip latency saved versus the central core.
Inputs
Traffic Served Locally
7.00Gbps
Edge Servers Required (N+1)
2
Round-Trip Latency Saved
22.0ms
Backhaul Traffic Avoided
7.00Gbps
Latency Improvement
78.6%
Step by step
Values used
Total user-plane traffic at the edge site = 20 Gbps; Traffic eligible for local breakout = 35 %; Throughput per edge server = 8 Gbps; Round-trip latency to the central core = 28 ms; Round-trip latency to the edge site = 6 ms
MEC Capacity
local traffic = total × offload share; servers = ceil(local ÷ per-server throughput) + 1; latency saved = core RTT − edge RTT.
Traffic Served Locally
= 7.00 Gbps
Edge Servers Required (N+1)
= 2
Round-Trip Latency Saved
= 22.0 ms
Backhaul Traffic Avoided
= 7.00 Gbps
Latency Improvement
= 78.6
How it works
Local breakout removes the eligible share of traffic from the backhaul entirely, so the same figure is both the compute load at the edge and the transport saving upstream. The latency benefit is the difference between the two round-trip paths, which is what determines whether a use case such as cloud gaming or AR becomes viable. MEC only pays for itself when the offload share is large enough to defer a backhaul upgrade or the latency saving unlocks a service the central core cannot deliver.
Formula
MEC Capacity
local traffic = total × offload share; servers = ceil(local ÷ per-server throughput) + 1; latency saved = core RTT − edge RTT.
- offload share
- Fraction of sessions that can terminate at the edge instead of the core
- N+1
- One spare server so maintenance does not cut capacity
Frequently Asked Questions
How is MEC Capacity calculated?
local traffic = total × offload share; servers = ceil(local ÷ per-server throughput) + 1; latency saved = core RTT − edge RTT. Local breakout removes the eligible share of traffic from the backhaul entirely, so the same figure is both the compute load at the edge and the transport saving upstream. The latency benefit is the difference between the two round-trip paths, which is what determines whether a use case such as cloud gaming or AR becomes viable.
Why does MEC Capacity matter?
MEC only pays for itself when the offload share is large enough to defer a backhaul upgrade or the latency saving unlocks a service the central core cannot deliver.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Total user-plane traffic at the edge site, Traffic eligible for local breakout, Throughput per edge server, Round-trip latency to the central core, Round-trip latency to the edge site. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.