Edge Computing

We all know what is datacenter and why it is important for your digital transformation requirement.

When data is centered over a location or infrastructure it was easy to monitor and manage the data. Whether it is for cost, security, scalability, utilization, performance, automation or analytics it really helps however does this meets the current demand ?

Lets understand different perspectives.

After Internet evolution and Internet of Things, more and more electronic equipment's are connected to the network and provide data on real time. More devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks are getting demand. The Internet of things encompasses electronics, communication, and computer science engineering. Technology is getting evolved rapidly where we interact with the devices using signs and codes, then were able to talk to devices with our own languages, and then devices talking to each other where it add artificial intelligence and made much more robust, scalable environment by reducing time & cost. Very soon the IoT may become the IoE (the Internet of Everything)!

So what you see here is the data generating from various users, devices, locations and thus huge generation of data brings lot of challenges. We need to store generated data, monitor and manage the devices and data and thereafter process data and use data within next moment when need arise. If we centralize the platform for the above requirement, there would huge cost involved, performance/ latency impact and mostly you wont be able to process data on time and bring out the result. Hence proximity to the user / device / location where data is getting generated is must and that's why we see a periodic shift from Data centric to Distributed Data platform.

"Edge computing is a distributed computing framework that brings enterprise applications closer to data sources such as IoT devices or local edge servers. This proximity to data at its source can deliver strong business benefits, including faster insights, improved response times, and better bandwidth availability."

Benefits:

• Reduced Latency: Since data doesn’t traverse over a network to a distant data center, latency is significantly reduced.

• Deeper Insights: Edge computing enables faster and more comprehensive data analysis, leading to deeper insights. Improved response time and reliable system insights

• Improved & Consistent Customer Experiences: By analyzing data locally, edge computing allows for more responsive services and better customer experiences. Reliability and performance will enrich the experience

• Compliance: Data locality provides compliance regulations. Edge computing also helps keep workloads up to date, ensure data privacy, and adhere to data protection laws such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI and safer data processing

• Improved Availability - Availability is dependent on site where data is getting generated.

• Enables AI and ML - Real-time data processing, data visualization, cashing and buffering, filtering enables more innovations.

• Simple expansion to new Markets - Edge Computing lead to remote execution and geography coverage. As Edge Computing has unique challenges with managing applications across many sites, with varying network connectivity and limited or not local IT support. Please find few which needs to be considered during designing Edge computing platform. Challenges and Opportunities:
  

• Data Explosion: The amount of data generated by connected devices is higher than ever before, yet most of this IoT data remains untapped.

• In-Device Computing: Edge computing harnesses the growing in-device computing capability to provide near-real-time insights and predictive analysis.

•  increases the overall attack surface - Edge devices can serve as a point of entry for cyberattacks through which an attacker can inject malicious software and infect the network

• Strategic Questions: Organizations must consider how to manage workloads, influence operational processes, and extract maximum value from connected devices.

Edge computing is ideal for use cases that rely on the processing of time-sensitive data for decision making. Another use case in which edge computing is better than a cloud solution is for operations in remote locations with little to no connectivity to the Internet.

However, edge computing is not a replacement for the cloud. These technologies are not interchangeable; edge computing complements the cloud, and the two techs ensure better performance for specific use cases.

So what is Edge Computing? Is that a a Technology ? Simple Answer is No as we use various technology what we use in Datacenter but with different architecture to improve response time and processing power close to the data where it get generated.

So lets understand this architecture and technologies involved in Edge Computing.

• Hardware requirements are smaller and operational workloads have stringent internal networking and uptime requirements. Hence we need a software defined edge which orchestrates the components & configurations and support ever changing compute and application needs. This needs to be powered by dual source and one needs to be from renewable energy to make sure that it can sustain in remote location.
  

• Satellite communication / Internet - Satellite internet is wireless internet beamed down from satellites orbiting the Earth. It’s a lot different from land-based internet services like cable or DSL, which transmit data through wires running underground. Since it’s the only internet service that’s available nationwide, satellite internet is a reliable way to get online for many rural homes and businesses, although it does still come with a few disadvantages. Satellite internet works by using radio waves to communicate with satellites orbiting the Earth. Data is sent and retrieved through a communication network that starts with your device and travels through your modem/router and satellite dish (This dish must be precisely positioned to beam signals to the provider’s satellite in orbit and receive information back.), out to a satellite in space (At about 300 miles above the Earth, next-generation satellites from Starlink (SpaceX) and Project Kuiper (Amazon) are much closer to the Earth. These satellites are launched into low-Earth orbit (LEO). Because of their closer proximity, next-generation satellites can provide customers with faster internet speeds and lower latency than previous satellite internet services), then back to Earth to ground stations known as network operations centers (NOC - Whenever you request information from the internet, whether you’re clicking on a link, streaming a show, or opening Facebook, the data from that request is uploaded through the above relay. The satellite then beams that request to the NOC. Using a much larger satellite dish than the one you have at home, the NOC receives your request. The NOC then taps into the internet backbone, gathers the information you requested, and sends it back through the relay to you.) . And then, data travels back through this network—out to space and then back to your satellite dish on Earth—to deliver data on your device.
  

• Edge Device - The physical location where edge devices run on-premises (cameras, sensors, industrial machines, etc.). These devices have the processing power to gather and transmit data.
  

• Edge optimized Server or Computing platform uses proven technologies to run both virtualized and container applications. It operates at low latency to run demanding real-time workloads like robotics and computer vision, repeatedly and safely close to the edge device..
  

• Edge gateway: An edge server that performs network functions such as tunneling, firewall management, protocol translation, and wireless connections. A gateway can also host application workloads.
  

• Datacenter / Cloud: A public or private cloud that acts as a repository for containerized workloads like applications and machine learning models. The cloud also hosts and runs apps that manage edge nodes. It might be pull or push technologies ( Depends on the solution/vendor) to make sure that edge platform are updated and managed.

Latency:-

• <5ms ( Automatic driving, gaming, IoT)

• <10ms (Augmented reality, medical applications)

• <30ms (Video analytics)

Note:- Virtualization is a vital element of a large-scale edge computing setup. This technology makes it easier to deploy and run numerous applications on edge servers.