K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
We define edge computing as the ability to place some amount of processing and data near the sources of the data as well as near the systems or humans that need quick access to the processing.
It’s a simple idea, and certainly nothing new. However, the popularity of edge computing continues to gather steam as we move more systems to centralized public clouds and modernize related applications and data stores.
As a result of this migration, we now recognize that not all modernized applications and data stores should only exist in a central location. Thus, the ‘new’ option of moving them to the realm of edge computing, specifically, to the edge of public clouds.
Much of the initial confusion with edge computing came from erroneous messaging from the tech press (and even from some companies) that edge computing was a replacement for cloud computing and other notions that were incorrect at their core. Yes, there are questions that need to be answered when any new hyped technology concepts hit the technology zeitgeist. However, once when we understood the concepts of edge and cloud computing in context of each other, the patterns of synergy began to emerge. Hopefully the confusion will continue to subside.
The Edge of What?
What drove the concept of edge computing was the rise of IoT and other technologies that are distributed to be optimized for the systems and humans that leverage them.
For example, it doesn’t make sense for a self-driving automobile to send all data and requests for data processing over a cellular network to some centralized system in a public cloud. The only way self-driving cars will work is if they can maintain data and processing at the edge, meaning, in the car. This allows the data and processing to occur with little or no network latency, providing fast enough reactions that you don’t hit a tree.
However, edge is not just for devices anymore. Edge clouds are now an option for those who want to have a small cloud instance in their data center. This allows local processing and data storage with much less latency than if the data and processing requests were sent one thousand miles away to a public cloud server that is shared with hundreds of other tenants.
The idea is to keep some but not all public cloud services on the edge clouds while still supporting a symbiotic relationship with edge clouds and their public cloud overlords. They can work together as needed for storage and processing, sharing data and processing tasks. System developers have the option to deploy data and applications on the edge cloud, the public cloud, or within applications and data sets that are divided between the two.
Microsoft’s Stack and AWS’s Outpost are the best examples of edge clouds. However, other smaller cloud providers have exploited the desire for some enterprises to leverage edge clouds as well. The larger cloud players often look at edge clouds as a path to their public clouds, which typically have more services and benefits. However, some enterprises will opt for edge cloud over public clouds ongoing.
Continue reading: https://www.eweek.com/cloud/why-we-often-misunderstand-the-synergy-between-edge-computing-and-cloud-computing/
It’s a simple idea, and certainly nothing new. However, the popularity of edge computing continues to gather steam as we move more systems to centralized public clouds and modernize related applications and data stores.
As a result of this migration, we now recognize that not all modernized applications and data stores should only exist in a central location. Thus, the ‘new’ option of moving them to the realm of edge computing, specifically, to the edge of public clouds.
Much of the initial confusion with edge computing came from erroneous messaging from the tech press (and even from some companies) that edge computing was a replacement for cloud computing and other notions that were incorrect at their core. Yes, there are questions that need to be answered when any new hyped technology concepts hit the technology zeitgeist. However, once when we understood the concepts of edge and cloud computing in context of each other, the patterns of synergy began to emerge. Hopefully the confusion will continue to subside.
The Edge of What?
What drove the concept of edge computing was the rise of IoT and other technologies that are distributed to be optimized for the systems and humans that leverage them.
For example, it doesn’t make sense for a self-driving automobile to send all data and requests for data processing over a cellular network to some centralized system in a public cloud. The only way self-driving cars will work is if they can maintain data and processing at the edge, meaning, in the car. This allows the data and processing to occur with little or no network latency, providing fast enough reactions that you don’t hit a tree.
However, edge is not just for devices anymore. Edge clouds are now an option for those who want to have a small cloud instance in their data center. This allows local processing and data storage with much less latency than if the data and processing requests were sent one thousand miles away to a public cloud server that is shared with hundreds of other tenants.
The idea is to keep some but not all public cloud services on the edge clouds while still supporting a symbiotic relationship with edge clouds and their public cloud overlords. They can work together as needed for storage and processing, sharing data and processing tasks. System developers have the option to deploy data and applications on the edge cloud, the public cloud, or within applications and data sets that are divided between the two.
Microsoft’s Stack and AWS’s Outpost are the best examples of edge clouds. However, other smaller cloud providers have exploited the desire for some enterprises to leverage edge clouds as well. The larger cloud players often look at edge clouds as a path to their public clouds, which typically have more services and benefits. However, some enterprises will opt for edge cloud over public clouds ongoing.
Continue reading: https://www.eweek.com/cloud/why-we-often-misunderstand-the-synergy-between-edge-computing-and-cloud-computing/
