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scenario
The approach of Edge Computing is currently pushing applications, data, and processing services to the edge of the network. Within this landscape, streamlining orchestration in IT organizations becomes crucial as it enables faster service management and improved resource management, resulting in cost reduction. To meet the new scalability and security challenges posed by advanced applications such as IoT and Smart City, a shift from a centralized to a distributed model is necessary.
Performance Improvement and Cost Reduction: IoT devices typically have capacity limits, and processing in remote data centers incurs bandwidth costs for data transmission. Edge computing allows data to be collected from various sources, unified as needed, and processed directly on-site;
Data Segmentation: Edge computing enables data segmentation according to regulations in different jurisdictions. By keeping data internally without an internet connection, the likelihood of compromise by malicious agents is reduced;
Reduction of Latency and Jitter: Execution near the physical data generation location, rather than through transfer to a data center and back, reduces latency and jitter;
Improved Security: Locating data and processing at the edge can enhance privacy, security, resilience, and protection, contributing overall to reliability. Data localization keeps them private within the security boundaries defined by the specific application;
Task Processing Separation Based on Requirements: Deployment flexibility allows separating tasks that require quick execution from those that take more time.
For example, training an artificial intelligence model can occur in the data center, while the algorithm's inference phase (the actually useful phase) can happen in real-time at the computing edge, near the device controlled by the algorithm.
Smart agriculture
E-Healthe
Smart city
Smart agriculture involves the extensive use of heterogeneous sensors and actuators distributed over large areas, often with intermittent connectivity. In this context, integrating IoT, edge, and cloud devices is leveraged to increase automation and process efficiency. Various sensors collect relevant data on crops, such as humidity, temperature, pH, and soil conditions, while various actuators, like water irrigators, ventilation devices, lighting, automated windows (in greenhouses), and soil and water nutrition pumps, respond based on the data. To overcome coverage and connectivity issues in agriculture, distributed IoT sensors and actuators can connect to edge devices. This connection can occur through intermediate devices (such as drones/microcontrollers) with limited hardware capabilities to process and store data from sensors/actuators but with the ability to forward data to edge devices. These edge devices are geographically close to the sensors and IoT microcontrollers, providing computing resources to process or store data locally, enabling faster responses for delay-sensitive applications.
E-health involves connecting medical devices with broader healthcare infrastructures, linking personal medical devices with healthcare providers such as hospitals, medical researchers, or private companies. Benefits include a streamlined healthcare system, increased efficiency, cost reduction, risk mitigation, improved quality of care and life, and increased transparency in the healthcare system. Despite these advantages, there are structural and technical challenges, given the pervasiveness and criticality of e-health technologies, the impact of adverse outcomes, and the sensitivity of personal health information, requiring higher levels of reliability, security, and protection than typical systems. E-health applications generally include three levels: a cloud computing and big data infrastructure, internet-connected gateways, and (body) sensors or sensor networks. With the introduction of edge nodes with computational and storage capabilities near medical sensors, the edge computing paradigm can play a crucial role in this context, ensuring requirements such as reliability, analysis speed, and response.
The use of ICT technologies is a solution to create smart urban environments to reduce the impact of demographic growth and improve quality of life. A smart city is an urban space composed of various complex systems, including infrastructure, technologies, social and political structures, and the economy. To control and monitor this environment, a wide range of heterogeneous devices, such as street cameras for security systems and sensors for utility and transportation systems, are placed throughout the city, generating a massive amount of data. This data can be used to identify bottlenecks and provide insights to city managers, thereby improving the decision-making process. Despite the opportunities offered by smart cities, they present various challenges. A smart city is a set of multiple systems with distinct and sometimes conflicting goals. These systems may use their own endpoints (devices) or share municipal devices to collect data over time, many of which do not have significant computational capacity to store and process this data. These simple devices play the role of city sensing, located at the edge of the network.
NET Reply offers certified expertise and partnerships with industry leaders in Edge computing, including Suse. This partnership allows us to provide cutting-edge solutions and a clear vision of the edge landscape and cluster orchestration.
In the modern scenario of continuous evolution, choosing among different solutions can be a complex process. With our consultative approach, we guide the client through detailed feasibility analyses, helping them select the best solution that fits their specific requirements. Once the ideal solution is identified, NET Reply guides step by step in the design phase, ensuring that every aspect is studied to maximize the efficiency of the edge environment. Additionally, NET Reply is capable of successfully implementing solutions, including cutting-edge tools like Rancher and Harvester. NET Reply also offers post-implementation support to resolve any issues and ensure the operationality of the edge infrastructure.
In addition to providing consolidated solutions, NET Reply is ready to explore and define new use cases, ensuring that the infrastructure is always at the forefront and constantly evolving.