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Edge Computing:
Everything You Need to Know

by Bharat Bhooshan Tyagi

Table of Contents
Or, navigate directly to a section of your choice below.
What is Edge Computing?

How Does Edge Computing Work?

Edge Computing Architecture

Edge Computing Use Cases

The Future of Edge Computing

Edge Computing Adoption & Market Growth

Edge Computing Benefits

Edge Computing Adoption Challenges

References & About the Author

About GlobalLogic
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What is Edge
Computing?
We live in a world where the
volume of data produced is
growing exponentially, and the
need for faster processing or
computation is increasing.
Edge Computing is a distributed computing paradigm focused on
bringing computation close to the data source, yielding faster
processing and higher quality insights while reducing latency and
bandwidth.

Data is of the utmost importance for modern businesses; different

analytics on data provide insights and help businesses decide on their
strategies, investments, expansion plans, etc. IoT devices are generating
an enormous amount of data, and at the current rate, world data is
expected to grow 61% to 175 zettabytes by 2025.

Despite the advancements in network technology, the traditional

computing paradigm cannot guarantee the processing, transfer rate,
and response times critical to many businesses. Endlessly growing
rivers of real-world data and networking challenges of latency,
bandwidth limitations, and unpredictable network disruptions call for a
new approach – and one is shaping up in edge computing.

Edge computing aims to move or reduce computation responsibilities away from centralized servers and leverage the computing and
storage power of smart devices such as user computers, mobile phones, network gateways, edge servers, and a variety of IoT devices, etc.
These lie on the network's edge, minimizing long-distance communication and providing real-time processing.

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How Does Edge

Computing
Work?
The underlying principle of edge
computing architecture is “Bring
the storage and computation
closer to the point where data is
generated.”
In a traditional client-server congestion even with the best
architecture, data is generated at network technology. The edge
the client endpoint, such as the computing principle is simple: if
user’s computer. you cannot take the data to the
data center efficiently, bring the
It travels through WAN, LAN, and data center closer.
ultimately reaches data centers
where enterprise applications This architecture helps boost
work upon it. Then, the results of application performance by
the process are sent back to the negating the chances of network
client endpoint. latency and is also cost-efficient,
leveraging local computation
Though this is a tested and proven power.
architecture, the traditional data
center finds it difficult to Edge computing services and
accommodate the exceptional hardware equipment such as edge
growth in data volume. According gateway and IoT sensors help
to Gartner’s predictions, 75% of solve issues with traditional client-
enterprise data will be generated server architecture by utilizing or
outside centralized data centers providing local storage and
by 2025. computation.

Moving and handling this vast The edge device may also include
amount of data will put incredible a user’s computer, smartphone,
pressure on the internet, which security camera, and even
often suffers disruption and internet-connected devices such
as air conditioners, microwave
ovens, etc.
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Edge
Computing
Architecture
 Edge Server or Gateway
Responsible for monitoring and maintaining millions of devices and
deploying or upgrading apps on these devices, the edge server remains
connected with the devices.

It does so with the help of agents installed on each of these IoT devices.
If a device doesn’t have enough analysis capabilities, then the device
sends data to the edge server for further analysis.

Fog Computing Layer

This bridge between the edge and the cloud usually has more
processing power than the edge servers. This layer has IoT gateways or
fog nodes that generally execute additional filtering and analysis.

There is no strict rule to have this layer; it is optional, and many edge
systems can be set up without the Fog layer.

Cloud Computing Layer

Edge computing architecture can be visualized as a pyramid consisting This layer is responsible for accumulating data received from all edge
of multiple layers with edge devices at the bottom. devices and fog nodes and storing it in data warehouses. This layer has
ultimate processing capabilities and runs Big Data analytics.
Edge Devices
The edge and IoT devices can collect data, run analytics, apply artificial Home
intelligence rules to collected data, and even store some data locally.
These edge devices can handle real-time decision-making and analysis
without the involvement of the edge server or the enterprise server.
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Edge
Computing Use
Cases
Explore real-world examples.
Conceptually, edge computing targets data collection, filtering, onboard, making the vehicle in motion an “edge.”
massaging, processing, and analysis at the closest location to where it is
needed, i.e., at the network edge. Collecting and moving huge amounts With edge computing architecture, autonomous vehicles can collect,
of data to a centralized location may not be technically feasible or analyze, and share details among vehicles and networks in real time with
cost-effective or may otherwise violate standard data compliances no latency. These vehicles can leverage the network of geographically
such as GDPR or data sovereignty. positioned edge data centers to relay critical data to auto
manufacturers and businesses, helping improve vehicle management.
Edge computing also brings hardware and software solutions and
networking architecture together to address the vast number of use Healthcare
cases pursued across several industry verticals. Here are a few The enormous volume of patient data collected through various medical
examples. equipment, sensors, etc. requires real-time processing and analysis to
identify critical diseases which may need immediate intervention to
Industrial Manufacturing help patients avoid health incidents. Edge computing is helping
The combined power of IoT, edge computing, and machine learning healthcare by applying automation and machine learning to access the
have taken industrial manufacturing to the next level. Computation and data, ignoring "normal" data, and identifying problems in real-time.
data storage enable real-time analytics and machine learning at the
edge, allowing for predictive maintenance, energy efficiency, cost Smart Cities
reduction, reliability, productive uptime, etc. Smart urban locations heavily rely on automated systems utilizing IoT,
sensors, etc. to collect a wealth of data on traffic, weather, roads, utility
Autonomous Transportation usages, and many more critical infrastructure data daily. The collected
Autonomous/driverless vehicles produce and consume around 5-12 TB information must be stored and processed before it can be used for
of data daily. To operate safely, these vehicles gather massive data predictive, immediate, or deferred actions. Citing the magnitude of
about location, weather conditions, vehicle conditions, road conditions, devices, network constraints, etc., traditional cloud-based solutions
directions, traffic, etc. This data must be collected, aggregated, and may fail to provide immediate processing and response hence making
analyzed at runtime. Any minor lag in processing could lead to a severe room for edge computing.
outcome; hence it needs robust computation and data storage
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The Future of
Edge
Computing
With several advantages over
traditional network architecture,
edge computing will continue to
emerge as a highly focused
technology along with IoT.

It will continue to play an

important role in an organization’s
business with growing IoT devices
hitting the global market daily. To
date, only a fraction of edge
computing’s capabilities has been
realized.
Image source: Gartner

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Edge
Computing
Adoption &
Market Growth
Edge technology is quite new and complex, requiring research,
infrastructure, connectivity, and management. It is in the early stage of
development; maturity at implementation and operations haven’t been
achieved so far. Only 27% have adopted this technology, but many are
looking forward to the edge growth opportunities offered soon.

The global edge computing market is expected to grow at a compound

annual growth rate of 19%, from USD 36.5 billion in 2021 to USD 87.3
billion by 2026.

Image source: TechTarget.com

Growth in IoT devices, large-scale investments, rising demand for

latency connectivity, and increasing use of BYOD in modern business
practices have given the necessary boost to this sector. The APAC
region, being home to many SMEs, has been a major contributor to edge
computing growth. The emerging market of autonomous vehicles and
lightweight edge computing frameworks is projected to grow
exponentially in the edge computing sector.

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Image source: Valuates Reports
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Edge
Computing
Benefits
Edge computing addresses infrastructure challenges such as network Reliability is improved, especially where internet connectivity or
reliability, latency, congestion, or bandwidth limitations, but many bandwidth is limited or unreliable, for example, on oil rigs, ships, or in
additional benefits make it more appealing. rainforests and deserts.

Fast Response With a great network of edge computing devices and edge data
Fast processing and results are key to some businesses, such as centers, there is no single point of failure, negating the chances of
autonomous vehicles, high-frequency trading, or the healthcare complete service failure.
industry, where minor delays could result in expensive consequences.
As a result, reliability is improved, especially when internet connectivity
Even with the latest network technology, such as fiber optic, which or bandwidth is limited or unreliable, for example, on oil rigs, ships,
allows data to travel at 2/3 the speed of light, enormous data volumes rainforests, and deserts.
lead to traffic congestion and latency.
Compliance
Edge computing increases network performance by reducing latency as Many different compliance laws across the world apply to data security
data is not required to travel the long distances inherent to a traditional and sovereignty. Transmitting data across regions, countries, and
client-server architecture. continents may fall under different legalities, which could be an
additional problem than transmitting large volumes of data across WAN
Since minimal latency or downtime may cost thousands of dollars, gains and LAN.
in speed with edge computing are impactful. One such example is the European Union's GDPR, which defines the
guidelines for data storage, processing and exposing the data, etc.
Reliability
With the availability of IoT edge computing devices and edge data By leveraging edge computing architecture, the data can be processed
centers closer to data generation, dependency on continuously strong locally, and any sensitive information could be filtered out before
networks and bandwidth has been dramatically reduced. transmission, complying with local laws.
Cost Effective An IoT edge device could also become an entry point for an attack. Still,
Transmitting, processing, storing, managing, and securing large volumes it can easily be identified and secured by implementing security
of data is not cheap. measures in the affected area without taking down the entire network.

Data generated by IoT devices may not be critical to the operation. Since a lower volume of filtered data is transmitted to the centralized
They can be filtered out at/or near the source before moving to server because of local data storage and processing, the risk of data
centralized data centers, resulting in excellent cost cutting on interruption reduces greatly.
bandwidth use.
In this way, edge computing helps to optimize the data flow, reduce Even if a device is compromised, only data available to that device is
redundancy costs, and maximize the organization's profit. exposed for attack rather than the entire centralized server.

Security Home
Despite the increased attack network surface (because of the number
of IoT edge devices), edge computing provides some important
security advantages.

Because of their “centralized processing” nature, traditional

architectures have been vulnerable to DDoS (Distributed Denial of
Service) attacks and power outages.

However, edge computing minimizes the chances of disruption and

network outage by distributing computation, storage, and applications
across a wide range of data centers and edge devices.
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Edge
Computing
Adoption
Challenges
Edge computing is multiplying in all sectors, including industrial and
commercial. There are many use cases, but as operations become more
geographically distributed, organizations face various roadblocks on the
path to full-scale adoption of edge computing. Most IoT projects fail
because of various challenges, which can broadly be categorized as
follows:

Standards & Benchmarking

• No defined industry standards for legal, social, and ethical aspects of
using edge intelligence.
• Immature benchmarking tools and practices require deep research.

IT Infrastructure
• A mix of legacy and modern solution makes cause integration
challenges.
• Information security constraints with the latest technology.

Security & Privacy

• Multitudes of harmful industrial environments affect the usage of
mobile devices.
• Lack of comprehensive, secure data flow from edge to core network.

Software Frameworks
• Lack of standard software framework and toolkits for edge intelligence
workflows.
• Hetrogeneity or hardware and platform, and resources in the workflow.
Undiscovered Security Threats An edge network with millions of connections needs a robust system to
Many IoT devices collecting sensitive information, including personal, handle and accumulate data correctly.
health, and financial data, are not designed with security. The primary
focuses of the manufacturer are typically ease of use, low cost, and Heterogeneity
speedy deployment. A variety of deployment environments, software, hardware, etc. creates
fragmented visualization. Managing an edge network requires more
However, security comes at the cost of all three, making IoT devices skills, resources, and resolution time as each new custom edge location
the weakest link and providing an easy-to-exploit attack surface. adds complexity to the system.

There is a need for a standard security framework as a precondition for Monitoring, managing, viewing, and processing data from multiple edge
large-scale edge computing projects. Managing the security of a sources to provide holistic management without creating equipment or
centralized or cloud data center is far easier than managing the security domain silos present new technological challenges.
of thousands of remote and sometimes less accessible edge locations.
Home
Scale
In an edge computing network, scaling is not simply adding more
servers. It requires increasing all sectors, including computation,
network, bandwidth, storage, security, licensing, etc.

Data Accumulation
While collecting, processing, and storing data at the edge brings a lot of
advantages to the business, it also presents new challenges and
liabilities.
Growing needs for data storage, computation, and – most importantly –
handling of data per defined rules is difficult to manage.
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References & About the

Author
About the Author
Bharat Bhooshan Tyagi is a software solution architect, designer, and developer with special interests in cloud computing, robotics, and machine
learning. Bharat has more than 16 years of experience in software development in different domains including healthcare, finance, and security.

References
"Edge Computing Definition," TechTarget.com. Accessed at https://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/definition/edge-computing, August 26, 2022.

“Edge computing,” Wikipedia.com. Accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_computing, September 2, 2022.

“Edge computing architecture,” IBM.com. Accessed at https://www.ibm.com/cloud/architecture/architectures/edge-computing/, September 2,

2022.
“Edge computing architecture and use cases,” LFedge.com. Created March 5th, 2022. Accessed at https://www.lfedge.org/2020/03/05/edge-
computing-architecture-and-use-cases/, September 2, 2022.

“Are attitudes toward edge computing architecture changing?,” TechTarget.com. Created January 16, 2020. Kurt Manko and James Alan Miller.
Accessed at https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/answer/Are-attitudes-toward-edge-computing-architecture-changing, September 2,
2022.
“Global Edge Computing Market Insights and Forecast to 2028,” ValueReports.com. Created March 2020. Accessed at
https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-35M1599/global-edge-computing, September 2, 2022.

“Challenges of Adopting Edge Computing,” Frost.com. Created October 2, 2020. Chirag Rathi. Accessed at https://www.frost.com/frost-
perspectives/challenges-of-adopting-edge-computing/, September 2, 2022/

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