Edge Computing

Edge computing is a distributed computing paradigm that brings computational and storage power to the edge of the network where data is actually consumed and produced. Moreover, the purpose of edge computing is to avoid the high latency and network bottlenecks associated with the use of cloud computing in network environments where several devices practically access and generate high volumes of data. Besides, edge computing provides better network support for mobility, security, and privacy requirements through bringing the compute, network and storage capabilities in close proximity to the user.

Edge computing architecture is introduced to handle traditional cloud computing network challenges by bringing data production closer to the data usage. As opposed to the centralized architecture of cloud computing, this will help to minimize the need for long-haul communication requirements between the edge clients and the servers. This architecture is ideal to cope with the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and bandwidth requirements of 5G networks.

Edge computing is a new and emerging computing paradigm that addresses inherent challenges of cloud computing such as undesirable latency, less mobility support, lack of context awareness, loss of privacy, data transmission overheads and limitations on the connectivity requirements between the central cloud environment and the end devices at the periphery. However, edge computing does not replace cloud computing rather complements it by enabling distributed data processing capabilities to the edge devices. This architecture provides better quality of service, less response time, better throughput, and facilitates real-time applications and services development endeavors.

The major difference between cloud computing and edge computing include the following:

• The architecture of cloud computing is centralized, whereas the architecture of edge computing is distributed.
• Cloud computing is data-driven, whereas edge computing is user-driven
• Cloud computing utilizes high bandwidth, whereas edge computing consumes less bandwidth
• While cloud computing is far from the users, edge computing is deployed in close proximity to the users.
• Unlike cloud computing, edge computing delivers services with low latency and response time.
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