Edge Computing – Why Is It So Special?

edge computing

Remember floppy disks and flash drives? Weren’t they efficient? Yes, they were. And mostly, they got the job done.

However, the limited space made everything a bit complex. Moreover, wasn’t it an extra burden to keep track of several devices?

Well, those days are gone now. As tech advanced, it bestowed us with cloud storage and drives spacious enough to store anything.

It may be evident that you’re not using vintage storage devices anymore. But, do you know what you are using right now?

Don’t worry, if you’re using it correctly, there’s no need to panic. However, isn’t it better to know about the devices at your disposal? 

In this article, we will explain the latest data storage tech – Edge Computing. This article contains everything to make you an informed user.

However, before starting, there’s one thing you should pay attention to. To take services of Edge Computing, you need a top-notch internet connection, just like Xfinity.

Why?

Because transferring huge amounts of data needs a strong connection. One with high download and upload speed. And for that, there may be no better alternative than Xfinity. Connect to Xfinity customer service and discover their plans and packages today.

Now, without further ado, let’s get started.

What is Edge Computing?

How Did Edge Computing Emerge?

How Does Edge Computing Work?

  1. Data Generation
  2. Data Processing
  3. Decision Making
  4. Data Transmission
  5. Feedback Loop

Bottom Line

What is Edge Computing?

The world has become more connected than it ever was. A major contribution to this connectivity is the devices, such as IoTs. These devices can share data and information, connected via a network.

What Edge Computing does is simply process the data near its origin.

Here, a question arises. Is it necessary to process data close to where it’s being generated?

Well, it may not be necessary to compute data near its origin. However, if that’s not the case, some grave implications emerge.

First of all, you may not get real-time data from your IoT devices. Secondly, it’ll lead to making uninformed decisions, as the data itself isn’t accurate for present conditions.

However, when the data is compiled near its source, wonders happen. You get real-time data, in the blink of an eye. Moreover, it doesn’t matter how large in volume the data is, Edge Computing will analyze it anyway.

This way, Edge Computing leads you to take effective action-led steps, complemented by real-time data.

How Did Edge Computing Emerge?

Two things – big data and location – created the demand for Edge Computing. In the past, as connected devices were limited, handling data wasn’t much of a problem. Moreover,  data could easily roam around. Plus, there was hardly a concept of making data-driven decisions.

However, that’s not the case anymore. Now, data takes up tons of space, making it complex to store at a single location. Furthermore, the location span has increased from where the data is received.

So, to cater to the petabytes of data, coming from all over the world, edge computing emerged.

That being said, we move on to learn how Edge Computing works.

How Does Edge Computing Work?

Typically, five steps define how Edge Computing works. These are:

  1. Data Generation: Devices or sensors, at the edge of the network, generate data. It can be your vitals. Business analytics, or anything these devices are supposed to generate.
  2. Data Processing: This step greatly defines the working of Edge Computing. Devices and sensors, instead of sending the data to a cloud network, analyze it themselves.

For example, your smartwatch calculates your steps taken in a day. Now, instead of sending data to process, it will analyze it and store it locally. Moreover, sensors and devices can filter out the relevant info from the given data and display it.

  1. Decision Making: Edge Computing devices don’t need instructions from a centralized server. Instead, they’re intelligent enough to process the data, convert it into useful info, and display it.

So, as a user, you get to see real-time data and make informed decisions.

  1. Data Transmission: Well, devices or sensors do send data to cloud servers. But only the data with relevant insights. This way, the cloud is only fed the data that holds importance. Moreover, it minimizes the latency over the network and makes the process smooth.
  2. Feedback Loop: The analysis done in the cloud can then be transferred to edge devices. It’s more like feedback or a guide on how to be more authentic and effective with the data. By doing so, the overall process improves itself over time.

Bottom Line: 

Edge Computing has surely made data handling easy. Furthermore, as most decisions are data-driven, it is enabling us to be more informed about our surroundings. With time, as the tech grows more, we can expect to see Edge Computing’s umbrella over more and more things.

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