Technology is always on the go. It’s always evolving and advancing. What you think was high-tech a couple of years ago may as well be obsolete by now.
There is a good reason for these changes. Mainly it’s the high demand for faster and better data processing. Then there’s also the need to make life easier for all of us. Hence, an innovation comes one after another.
The term edge computing is still not familiar to many. The term sounds confusing at first. But after a closer look, you can tell that it reflects what it does.
What is meant by edge computing?
In short, it is using a low latency network to process and return data faster to the request sender. Many people confuse edge with cloud technology. The key difference is that in edge computing, users still have has direct access and control over the data process.
While on cloud computing, users send requests and let the cloud servers do the rest of the work. The differences may be in milliseconds, but time is important in this day and age.
What are examples of edge computing?
You may not realize it yet, but technology has been a part of our lives for a while. There are so many edge computing examples that you can find in daily life. For example, it exists in the electricity’s smart grid. It controls the flow and directions of each.
You also can find edge computation in the hospital system. The low latency network supports the alert system that tells the nurse station whenever there is a call.
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What is edge computing used for?
One of many examples is smart home appliances. Yes, they are using low latency computation near the requests. That is how you can control your home appliances using only one device. All of them are connected then the edge computation allows them to work on the requests faster.
Another example is cloud gaming and autonomous cars. You may think that cloud gaming means that it’s strictly using cloud computing. These games need the edge to bring a better gaming experience to their users.
What is the difference between edge and cloud computing?
In simplest terms, Cloud computing works on big data and can process them all without direct control from the users. While edge computing works on smaller data batches and closer to the users. Moreover, the users have control of the data.
Edge allows the data processing to happen in real-time. This speed makes people define edge computing as all the computation that happens outside of the cloud network. However, this leads to more confusion between the term edge and fog computing.
What is the difference between fog computing and edge computing
Many people use the terms interchangeably. The definition may overlap since both technologies are using the outskirts of cloud computing. But both are different in usage and details.
Fog computing uses edge devices to do the computation. It is bridging the requests to the larger data cloud. In short, they are working with the data without actually being in the data. As an illustration, fog computing sits right between cloud and edge.
What is Mobile edge computing?
As the name suggests, mobile edge computing is bringing edge technology to work on mobile data. It means that now both users and companies can avoid data congestions. The result is a faster process and a better user experience.
The best example is the Global Positioning System or GPS that you have on your phone. Geolocation tracking uses edge computation to give a faster and more accurate result. Another example is DNS caching. That is how you have no problem loading any websites using your phone’s browser.
10 Hottest Edge Computing Devices Of 2021 (So Far)
Here are ten hottest edge devices that you can find in the market as of today. They cover all aspects of edge cloud computing to hasten the process as well as providing better cybersecurity.
In this list, you can see the best UPS, routers, and many others that can help your edge network. However, the list does not reflect any preferences and is in no particular order.
- Schneider Electric Smart-UPS Ultra
This smart-UPS is only half of the weight of regular devices. But it can give you up to 2.5 more power. Claiming to be the first 3kW 1U in the industry. Schneider Electric designs it to be compact yet powerful and flexible to multitask. - Lenovo ThinkEdge SE30 and SE50
You can use the OpenVINO tool in Lenovo ThinkEdge to manage the computation. They can accelerate the AI work while managing the temperature at the same time. The only difference is that SE30 has Intel i5 vPro, while SE50 has an i7 vPro processor. - Eaton 5E UPS
The program needs to stay online in the edge network. Thank goodness for the Eaton UPS that have Lithium-Ion Batteries. It also has intelligent power management that will control the power division to all the connected devices. - HPE Edgeline EL8000
HPE Edgeline is a prominent name in the US armed forces. It has Intel Xeon scalable processors that allow you to control even the most demanding programs. It also has buildable AI and Machine learning that you can use for your benefit. - Microsoft Azure Pro R
Perhaps this device is the definition of edge computing. With Microsoft Azure Pro R, the request goes through machine learning computation without even connecting to the cloud. That way, it makes no problem if the network connection is patchy or doesn’t even exist. - Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
The Prisma SD-WAN helps you managing the connection throughout a large area while still be cost and energy-efficient at the same time. It simplifies management control and improves security. - Cisco Catalyst IR8100
This Cisco router supports a 5G network and has IP67 grade for dust and water-resistant. It also has a better security system including but not limited to Cisco TrustSec and Unified Threat Defense. You can rely on this device to manage your programs. - AWS Greengrass
Greengrass is a new IoT tool from Amazon Web Services. This tool helps the users to program their devices to collect and process the data locally. This means that they can remotely manage their applications and other programs to suit their needs. - Dell PowerEdge XR11 and XR12
They may be small, but they are powerful. Both Dell PowerEdge servers have scalable Intel Xeon processors on a rugged chassis. Both servers work great in extreme temperatures and dusty areas. The only difference is that XR11 has one socket 1U server, while XR12 has one socket 2U server. - Dell PowerStore 500
Just like the name implies, PowerStore can consolidate data at an enterprise level. PowerStoreOS allows you to control the application through VM. Still, it’s fast and reliable storage that can be perfect for your company.
