Processing and data storage takes place on edge systems via the cloud. But network constraints are perhaps the best way to differentiate edge from cloud.
At its core, the main difference between edge computing and cloud computing comes down to one concept: network connection restrictions. If internet connectivity were continuously available everywhere and data could be transferred immediately and without delays, there would be no need for edge computing solutions. But since network connections are not constant or ubiquitous and both bandwidth and latency are limited, edge computing solutions have been developed to address each of these issues.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing allows users with an Internet connection to use processing power and data remotely. For most purposes, users can pretend that processing power and storage are infinite, even if compute capacity is actually limited by a finite number of data centers. Need more processing power? Run more servers. Prefer to store more photos, files or other data? Provide larger storage limits.
The emergence of both reliable internet connections and cloud computing has been more or less synchronized since the early 2000s. The type of data sent also changed over time, gradually moving from a focus on text and compressed images to audio and live-streamed video.
For organizations, this meant that previously on-site file servers may be moved to the cloud. Cloud computing companies often offered levels of reliability and redundancy that easily exceeded what most IT departments could provide.
Cloud applications brought both power and simplicity of management to more organizations. For example, the responsibility for updates shifted from personnel managers to cloud suppliers. For example, new features appear in Google Docs when Google makes a change, without the need for an on-site administrator to do anything.
Many school systems, which had chronically limited resources, switched to Chromebooks because the cloud-centric computers are easier to manage, maintain, and secure than most older server-facing systems.
TO SEE: Don’t hold back your enthusiasm: trends and challenges in edge computing (TechRepublic)
Edge Computing
Two niche segments – major providers of interactive websites and streaming services – provided the first indications that a distinctly different computer architecture might be needed. In particular, these companies realized that delivering data to individual customer computers takes time. Content delivery network providers began to move data centers closer to consumers (Image A).
Image A
For example, someone streaming a movie in Michigan will likely experience lower latency when the streaming source is a Chicago vs. Los Angeles data center. Today, vendors apply the term edge to smaller data centers of various sizes, but they all try to solve the network connection limitation of latency caused by distance.
Another class of edge computing emerged as connected home technologies were deployed. Users want smart locks, security cameras and various environmental sensors to work even if Wi-Fi goes down, a cable is cut, or cellular networks temporarily stop working.
Eventually, vendors started building systems that communicate using different standards, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Matter. Likewise, machines in an industrial environment may need to operate in environments without reliable networks. Since almost all of these smarthome and industrial devices generally remain in one location, the network connectivity limitation they address is a temporary lack of connectivity.
However, moving vehicles – on land, in the air and at sea – represent many of the most challenging edge computing tasks to date. Not only do automated cars, planes and ships have to operate in places without consistent internet connections (Figure B), but their speed of movement often leaves insufficient time to rely on remote calculations, even when plugged in. In other words, by the time an autonomous driving car receives a response from a nearby cloud data center about a hazard on the road, the car may have already encountered it.
Figure B
Periodic connectivity for these types of vehicles remains critical. For example, cars and trucks benefit from updated maps to indicate roads, road works and current traffic conditions. Drones and autonomous ships rely on weather data to identify potentially turbulent skies or seas.
People who manage these devices will likely want to transfer data not only to assess and improve performance, but also to retrieve images and other information obtained by the vehicle’s various instruments. Edge systems that enable this kind of autonomous operation and intermittent network connectivity present several sets of challenges that will not be fully resolved by the end of 2022.
What is your experience?
Cloud computing makes it possible to use computing power and storage wherever there is a reliable internet connection. Edge computing is shifting processing and storage from these cloud data centers to devices that can compute independently from a constant connection.
Do you rely on a mix of cloud and edge computing systems in your work? Are there any specific edge computing capabilities not mentioned above that you will find useful in your environment? What types of management and control systems have you implemented to help manage your organization’s cloud and edge computing systems?
Call or message me on Twitter (@awolber) to let me know about your experience with edge computing – and which edge computing technologies you are most interested in.
