Edge Computing
Edge computing pushes compute, storage and network connectivity out of the data centre and into the field — where IoT, sensors and smart devices generate data faster than most networks can transmit it.
Why compute is moving out of the data centre
Businesses are shrinking their data-centre footprints and moving to a cloud model, but the data generated by IoT, mobile and smart devices requires far bigger transmission pipes than most companies can afford. That's pushed applications like IoT, AI, machine learning and content caching out to edge computing devices — secure, rugged servers built to run outside the data centre, without air conditioning, delivering compute, storage and network connectivity where the demand is localised.
- Improves performance by offloading data collection and analysis from cloud-based applications
- Speeds up delay-sensitive local applications by avoiding WAN latency
- Cuts network costs by reducing upstream traffic across WAN links
- Improves resiliency by distributing compute across the network
- Enables simpler, cheaper IoT devices by shifting processing to edge gateways
The architecture in three layers
IoT devices & sensors → Edge gateway → Edge servers → Data centre/cloud. Edge servers run real-time analytics and local business logic, filtering out data with no lasting value before it reaches the cloud.
Edge computing in an IoT system
IoT & sensors
Devices, sensors and applications generating an ever-increasing variety, volume and velocity of data.
Edge servers
Analyse data locally before it's transmitted, and act on it before it ever reaches an enterprise data centre.
Cloud & data centre
Business intelligence, data analytics and visualisation tools for data scientists and business users.