Solving developer challenges – serverless at the edge computing and Industry 4.0.
Serverless at the edge technology solves the latency and performance gap challenges for use cases cost-effectively. The world’s next-gen IoT applications, including driverless cars, industrial IoT, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, robotics, and unmanned drones, must be able to leverage meshed networks of servers in near real-time, which requires a completely different architecture than what currently powers the cloud.
The key value proposition of serverless at the edge computing is that it brings compute directly to the location where it is needed, close to the end user. Serverless at the edge computing also brings movement and scale to computing, eliminating the need for data to reside in a centralized server. With edge computing, AI, IoT and 5G applications are liberated from the common computing issues of bandwidth, distance, and latency.
When looking at serverless at the edge, what can be seen are compute nodes located close to the action, (think driverless cars) decreasing the possibility of a network problem in an offsite location that would affect the movement of the data. In fact, with our new architecture, serverless at the edge computing locations continue to run during lapses in connectivity. Serverless at the edge is the future for IoT technology because it is nimble, cost effective and close to the action. It’s like “computing-as-a-service” where server capacity is only used when it is needed.
Serverless at the edge is laser-focused and on a computing mission to deliver information at the precise moment it is required. Every day this paradigm of computing becomes more relevant with the unprecedented amounts of data on the horizon as IoT sensors and endpoints proliferate, to do their part in the ongoing expansion of 5G technology and Industry 4.0 – the era of connected things.
The world is moving towards the next wave of connected things
One trillion devices are expected to connect to the internet by 2030 – necessitating hyper-local compute and storage to process the data generated. Simply put, the cloud can’t keep up. Decentralized architecture that allows enterprises to quickly and efficiently deploy to the edge at lower cost and complexity is the way forward.
The key architectural difference is a peer-to-peer mesh network of edge nodes that enable rapid software deployments directly to the edge, on a serverless platform. Mesh architecture is designed to run on the far edge, on towers, rooftops, basements, etc. This frees developers from the burden of managing the infrastructure and complex virtual machine deployments using tools that are principally designed for data center implementations. Infrastructure needs to be smart enough to look at an event and then delegate what needs to be provisioned and where, at the software level. Technology needs to do this thinking for the developer, so the developer can focus on what they love doing: solving, building, and scaling things. The added benefit of a mesh network is that IoT sensors can be directly attached to edge nodes.
Solving the latency and performance gap challenges for use cases that require very fast compute and response is also imperative to Industry 4.0.
The evolution of 5G and faster connectivity and devices, in general, pairs with serverless edge. Serverless edge reduces latency by bringing compute closer to the user; 5G is reducing the latency of the communication.
Serverless computing at the edge powers 5G in several ways:
Instant response
Serverless edge computing optimizes response times and makes possible the local, close to the end user processing of data. This way, the data is instantly available.
Constant availability
The next layer is its consistency and dependability of being available when needed. If an application can continue to keep processes moving during connectivity outages, it follows that the end user can be more confident in the functionality of their critical use cases. An edge data center is located near the end users it serves and therefore lowers the risk of a network outage in a remote location. Another one of the benefits of edge computing devices is they’re always on design along with their native processing functions that power their ability to operate on their own.
Security and privacy
Security and privacy are enhanced in a serverless edge environment as there is less back and forth sending sensitive information to the cloud. Serverless at the edge computing distributes the processing, storage, and use of applications across types of devices and data centers making it a challenge to disrupt the network.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a massive benefit. Conserving– energy and conserving compute power is associated with serverless at the edge, succeeding in the face of the antiquated (and damaging) ‘take, use, dispose’ models. Moving data from an end user many miles away to a centralized cloud and then back to the end user uses a large amount of power. Local processing reduces the power consumption considerably. As we move closer to living in a world powered by the Internet of Things and connected everything – we will continue to generate massive amounts of data. Compute should be ubiquitous – a thousand feet from connected machines and devices. Edge computing will dominate Internet development over the next ten years and beyond.
Serverless at the edge computing is meant to be located near its recipient end users. And the nodes that will help power smart cities must also be prolific and nearby. These nodes must be cost-effective to deploy, and support data migration for automated cars, pedestrian needs, and even unmanned drones that come into range.
Computing in the era of IoT and connected things – Industry 4.0 – moves society out of the theoretical and into a world where AI and machine learning power cars, homes, and myriad personal devices. Serverless at the edge is integral to this shift, with platforms that slash costs by expanding the perimeter of the edge economy – powering 5G and our lives.
