Edge Computing, Fog Computing or both?

Our devices and services make up the Internet of Things ; data are everywhere. The issue is how we manage, access, analyze, and store all these data? The goal of fog computing is to improve efficiency while reducing the amount of data sent to the cloud for processing, analysis, or storage.

Improved User Experience – Quick responses and no downtime make users satisfied. According to Statista, by 2020, there will be 30 billion IoT devices worldwide, and by 2025 this number will exceed 75 billion connected things. Fog computing uses different protocols and standards, so the risk of failure is very low. Fog does short-term edge analysis due to the immediate response, while Cloud aims for a deeper, longer-term analysis due to a slower response.

Differences between Edge Computing and Fog Computing – Functionalities

In reality, any device with computing, storage, and network connectivity can act as a fog node. When data is collected by IoT devices and edge computing resources, it is sent to the local node instead of the cloud. Utilizing fog nodes closer to the data source has the advantage of faster data processing when compared to sending requests back to data centers for analysis and action. In a large, distributed network, fog nodes would be placed in several key areas so that crucial information can be accessed and analyzed locally.

It is used whenever a large number of services need to be provided over a large area at different geographical locations. This makes processing faster as it is done almost at the place where data is created. It promises to bring computation near to the end devices leading to minimization of latency and efficient usage of bandwidth. This data requires analysis to make decisions for implementation and to take various actions.

Benefits of Cloud Computing:

The idea of Fog Computing is based on using devices that are already present in the network (e.g. industrial routers, gateways, servers). However, the already existing devices must be integrated into a Fog network with appropriate software. Mostly, it is the cloud providers themselves who provide software solutions for networking from the Fog level to the respective cloud. Fog computing is a computing layer between the cloud and the edge. Edge computing can send large data streams directly to the cloud. Fog computing, on the other hand, can receive data from the edge layer before it reaches the cloud.

• The considerable processing power of edge nodes allows them to compute large amounts of data without sending them to distant servers.
• The term fog computing, originated by Cisco, refers to an alternative to cloud computing.
• Decentralization and flexibility are the main difference between fog computing and cloud computing.
• In addition, the rapid growth of IoT applications is an essential part of the impending data explosion.

Here, files are not stored on physical devices, but rather “in the cloud”. In industrial applications, this data, which comes in many forms, could originate from IoT sensors. They can be sent to a cloud service such as Microsoft Azure.

Differentiation from edge computing

When looking at the bigger picture, there are a lot more benefits. The amount of storage you would need for your cloud application would be a lot lower. That is because the cloud would only store and process relevant data. That is because the volume of data being sent to the cloud is significantly reduced. The collected data is cleaned and unimportant data is filtered out. Data filtering in this layer may include removing all impurities from the data and making sure that only useful information is collected at this layer.

The concept of fog computing was developed to combat the latency issues that affect a centralized cloud computing system. The boom of consumer and commercial IoT devices and technologies has put a strain on cloud resources. In cloud computing, data processing takes place in remote data centers. Fog is processed and stored at the edge of the network closer to the source of information, which is important for real-time control. Fog computing is a decentralized computing infrastructure or process in which computing resources are located between a data source and a cloud or another data center.

Cloud computing requires a ton of network bandwidth, especially if you have an organization’s worth of IoT devices and technologies communicating with the cloud and sending data back and forth. You can increase your computing power by eliminating constant cloud communication and handling data locally. Your devices and network will perform better with a reduction in the bandwidth being used by cloud computing.

Fog computing: decentralized approach for IoT clouds

Another limitation to fog computing is that it is location-based. You can access the cloud from anywhere, but on a decentralized fog computing system, you need to be in the local area of your fog node in order to access the network. That is why many organizations use fog computing in addition to the cloud. Time-sensitive data like alarms, fault warnings, and device status greatly benefits from the speed of edge computing. This data needs to be analyzed and acted upon quickly in order to prevent major damage or loss. Smart manufacturing is by no means the only area in which fog computing can be applied to unburden systems and facilitate data transfer.

Understanding the advantages and disadvantages will help you to decide if it will be useful for your business. Power consumption is too high in fog nodes compare to centralized cloud architecture. It process selected data locally instead of sending them to the cloud for processing. Keeping analysis closer to the data source, especially in verticals where every second counts, prevents cascading system failures, manufacturing line shutdowns, and other major problems. The ability to conduct data analysis in real-time means faster alerts and less danger for users and time lost.

Fog computing allows us to locate data on each node on local resources, thus making data analysis more accessible. The demand for information is increasing the overall networking channels. And to deal with this, services like fog computing and cloud computing are used to quickly manage and disseminate data to the end of the users. Fog is an intermediary between computing hardware and a remote server. It controls what information should be sent to the server and can be processed locally.

Google WorkspaceCollaborate smarter with Google’s cloud-powered tools. Data management becomes laborious because, in addition to storing and computing data, data transfer requires encryption and decryption, which releases data. When a layer is added between the host and the cloud, power usage rises.

Fog Computing vs Edge Computing

Fog computing sends selected data to the cloud for historical analysis and long-term storage. In fog computing, data is received from IoT devices using any protocol. By using cloud computing services and paying for what we use, we can avoid the complexity of owning and maintaining infrastructure.

Fog Computing is a complex system that has to be integrated into an existing infrastructure. However, for some applications, the above advantages can be attractive if a direct edge-to-cloud data architecture is used. This means a tremendous amount fog vs cloud computing of data analysis in real-time is critical to avoid accidents, and a fog computing approach is essential to sharing the limited mobile bandwidth that is available. Like any technology, fog computing applications also have disadvantages.

Since fog computing is decentralized, you will need to rely on the people near your network edge to maintain and protect your fog nodes. It will also be difficult to maintain any centralized security control over your fog nodes. What edge servers are, edge computing happens where data is being generated, right at “the edge” of a given application’s network. This means that an edge computer connects to the sensors and controllers of a given device and then sends data to the cloud. However, this traffic of data can be massive and inefficient.

What is Utility Computing?

In theory, this in turn improves performance and speed of applications and devices. Data storage is another important difference between cloud computing and fog computing. In fog computing less data demands immediate cloud storage, so users can instead subject data to strategic compilation and distribution rules designed to boost efficiency and reduce costs. By locating these closer to devices, rather than establishing in-cloud channels for utilization and storage, users aggregate bandwidth at access points such as routers. This in turn reduces the overall need for bandwidth, as less data can be transmitted away from data centers, across cloud channels and distances.

It can also be used in scenarios where there is no bandwidth connection to send data, so it must be processed close to where it is created. As an added benefit, users can place security features in a fog network, from segmented network traffic to virtual firewalls to protect it. By moving real time analytics into a cloud computing fog located closer to devices, it is easier to capitalize on the existing computing power present in those devices.

Fog is the physical location of computing devices much closer to users than cloud servers. Fog Computing is the term coined by Cisco that refers to extending cloud computing to an edge of the enterprise’s network. It facilitates the operation of computing, storage, and networking services between end devices and computing data centers. The new 5G mobile communications standard with https://globalcloudteam.com/ median download speeds of 1.4 Gbps will begin rollout in certain cities in late 2018 while other areas won’t begin until 2020. Experts predict exorbitant data growth, especially in the professional sector. With 5G, the bandwidth and speed of mobile data transmission will increase exponentially, opening up entirely new application possibilities in the industry and service sectors.

Edge servers and storage are installed on a device to collect and process data produced by sensors within the device. The processed data can then be transmitted to another data center for human review, archival, merged, and analyzed for broader analytics. In the world of Internet of things and Industry 4.0, solutions with cloud technology are indispensable. Terms like Software-as-a-Service or Platform-as-a-Service are part of the standard glossary in the world of IoT. Cloud services for data analysis are increasingly gaining acceptance in the industrial environment and are already being used productively in companies today. However, the increasing volume of generated machine data poses a challenge for analysis on the cloud and should be relieved in the long term by edge and fog computing.