edge computing
EDGE YOUR BETS
Dr Peter Koch of Emerson Network Power discusses the trend of edge computing.
O
ur lives are
increasingly spent
online, both
personally and
professionally. This
puts a strain on the data centre
load, particularly as many of the
services we use most often, such as
collaborating online, streaming TV
series or checking social media, are
cloud based. Cloud storage centres
are becoming laden down with
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complex data processing requests,
slowing them down and putting
unwanted pressure on their systems.
This emphasis on cloud services
has caused much of a data centre’s
workload to be shifted from local
data centres to a distributed data
centre infrastructure.
We are seeing a trend towards
‘edge computing’, which moves
key data processing and network
services away from the central data
centres and out to the ‘edge’ of the
network – nearer to the transmitters
and the devices that the consumers
themselves interact with. The aim is to
deliver an enhanced cloud computing
experience for the mobile user,
building better operational connectivity
between the server and the devices
at the edge of the network. In
practice this often consists of multiple
small networks which link to a large
network, with application services