{"id":787,"date":"2018-07-10T05:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T05:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kusuaks7\/?p=392"},"modified":"2023-08-17T12:30:18","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T12:30:18","slug":"whats-proximity-computing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/iot\/whats-proximity-computing\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Proximity Computing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ready to learn Internet of Things? Browse courses<\/a>\u00a0like\u00a0Internet of Things (IoT) Training<\/a> developed by industry thought leaders and Experfy in Harvard Innovation Lab.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

An explanation and the three different types<\/em><\/h2>\n
<\/canvas><\/figure>\n

Edge computing is a means of processing data physically close to where the data is being produced, i.e. where the things and humans are \u2014 in the field area, homes, and remote offices.<\/p>\n

Since they don\u2019t live in the cloud, we need to complement cloud computing with many forms of computing at the edge to architect IoT solutions.<\/p>\n

Discussions about edge computing often overlook how many\u00a0types of \u201cedge\u201d\u00a0<\/em>computing there are. We\u2019ll take a look at the\u00a0fundamental drivers for edge computing<\/strong>\u00a0and the many\u00a0types of edges<\/strong>\u00a0to consider.<\/p>\n

Since we\u2019re referring to computing close to the source of things, data, and action, I will use a more generic term for this type of data processing:\u00a0proximity computing<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Economics of Proximity Computing<\/h3>\n

Events in our world need a timely response either for good user experience (\u201cchanging TV channels\u201d) or to avoid catastrophes (\u201cgas line leak\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"proximity<\/figure>\n

As these events occur, we need to choreograph complex systems to\u00a0Sense, Process, and Act (SPA)<\/a>. The cost of SPA\u2019ing is a function of local vs. remote processing costs, network connectivity costs and remote systems management costs.<\/p>\n

Size and power aside,\u00a0proximity computing balances the timeliness of responding to an event with the cost<\/strong>\u00a0of that response. Legal restrictions on data traversing jurisdictions further drive the need for proximity computing.<\/p>\n

Many-Edged Landscape \u2014 Types of Proximity Computing<\/h3>\n

When it comes to optimal proximity computing, there are many edges to consider. I think of them as:\u00a0the Personal Edge, the Business Edge, and theCloudy Edge<\/em><\/strong>. These three edges deploy SPA (Sensing-Processing-Acting) to a varying set of problems in different environments, for optimal, automated response, like when your lawn mower is stolen.<\/p>\n

\"proximity<\/figure>\n

We will explore each edge separately from personal to cloud and their drivers.<\/p>\n

1) The Personal\u00a0Edge<\/h4>\n

This Edge surrounds our person and is sometimes inside us. It\u2019s at home. It comprises of home robots, smart eyeglasses, smart pills, sensors under your skin, watches, home automation systems, your Amazon Echo and your smartphones. Call it\u00a0Alexa edge, or Siri edge<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0or by your favorite gadget name.<\/p>\n

Collectively this edge is mobile. Devices from the personal edge moves in and out of the business edge as we move between home and work.<\/p>\n

\"proximity<\/figure>\n

We\u2019ll hear more about this edge in the next 5 years as intelligent home devices, digital health, and other personal devices proliferate.<\/p>\n

2) The Business\u00a0Edge<\/h4>\n

This is the most talked about Edge. Connected machines and people galore here. It\u2019s in our carpeted offices, in uncarpeted spaces, out in the open where we work and play.<\/p>\n

Many IoT discussions seem to presume that this is the only edge. Every IoT discussion extols the virtues of this Edge. So I\u2019ll be brief. Mission-critical SPA (\u201cSensing-Processing-Acting\u201d) goes on in this realm especially as Industrial IoT gathers momentum.<\/p>\n

\"proximity<\/figure>\n

Many vendors are providing application development environments to enable development of edge applications and analytics.\u00a0Amazon Lambda Greengrass\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Azure IoT hub<\/strong>\u00a0are examples of such software.<\/p>\n

3) The Cloudy\u00a0Edge<\/h4>\n

This is the least talked about Edge, but the oldest edge. It\u2019s a topological term in the service provider or enterprise\u00a0network edge<\/strong>\u00a0where traffic first entered from dial-up modems (yes, those screeching devices from the \u201890s!) in homes, or from remote branch offices.<\/p>\n

This used to be a mere network-edge without any computing capacity. They were called PoPs (points-of-presence).<\/p>\n

\"proximity<\/figure>\n

The demand for application performance and content delivery required the network edge to add applications and data. Modern day\u00a0Edge Data Centers<\/a>fulfill that need. Content Delivery Networks (CDN) leverage them so that we get better page and video loads. This edge is now enhanced with Mobile Edge Computing, as mobile app performance needed to get better. We do it by colocating Radio Access Network (RAN) PoPs and applications.<\/p>\n

So the old PoP got edgy with content and computing. SP edge, mobile edge, and enterprise edge came together to be the Cloud\u2019s Edge. This edge still stays relevant to ensure application performance and smooth content delivery.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h3>\n

There are many ways to describe what IoT is. They will all be right. Some more comprehensive than the other.<\/p>\n

One such description is:<\/p>\n

IoT = Distributed artificial and human intelligence across a labyrinth of connected devices.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"proximity<\/figure>\n

Technologies like AWS Lambda and its edge cousin\u00a0Greengrass<\/a>\u00a0are helping accelerate the creation of this distributed intelligence. How you create your distributed application intelligence across the personal, business, and cloud edge will depend on your application, the costs, and the regulations involved. In the next year, we will see reference architectures evolve to support new application patterns for IoT that incorporate proximity computing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edge computing is a means of processing data physically close to where the data is being produced, i.e. where the things and humans are — in the field area, homes, and remote offices. Since they don’t live in the cloud, we need to complement cloud computing with many forms of computing at the edge to architect IoT solutions. Since we’re referring to computing close to the source of things, data, and action, a more generic term for this type of data processing is: proximity computing. In the next year, we will see reference architectures evolve to support new application patterns for IoT that incorporate proximity computing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":4184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[93],"ppma_author":[1932],"class_list":["post-787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iot","tag-internet-of-things"],"authors":[{"term_id":1932,"user_id":78,"is_guest":0,"slug":"hari-harikrishnan","display_name":"Hari Harikrishnan","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Harikrishnan","first_name":"Hari","job_title":"","description":"Hari Harikrishnan is the President & CEO of The Cerebrus Group, a digital strategy consultancy based in Silicon Valley. He has broad experience in IoT, enterprise software, and networking, and is passionate about the impact of analytics-enabled automation on Industrial IoT and Healthcare."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29608,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787\/revisions\/29608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}