But the cloud continues to evolve, and we get a new technology that aspires to transform our lives even more: the Internet of Things (IoT). It is about connecting to the Internet all kinds of devices that worked in isolation: from sensors to household appliances, passing through cars, watches, pacemakers, glasses, clothes. The list is practically endless to answer the question, how does IoT connect to the cloud?
The advantages of connecting objects to the Internet are numerous. On the one hand, we can manage them remotely, which allows us to automate the operation of an entire factory as part of Industry 4.0. Also, connected objects collect information from their environment that we can then process to obtain statistics and trends that allow, for example, to control the state of an infrastructure (something that, for example, could have prevented the collapse of the Genoa Bridge). Finally, connected objects can interact with other online systems; Imagine that your fridge detects that there is no milk; it connects to the servers of your online supermarket and automatically places an order.
However, the Internet of Things also has a negative side: it puts enormous pressure on telecommunications networks and data centers, which must transmit, store and process more and more data generated by an increasing number of connected objects.
It is as if several thousand new users connect to a company’s website every day, and they all want to view or download the same content. In the end, the company’s website would eventually collapse! (Unless you had a hosting web service with unlimited traffic). Luckily, the necessary technology already exists to prevent the Internet of Things from collapsing the cloud: Edge Computing.
From Cloud Computing To Edge Computing
To better understand this concept, we must first be clear about how the cloud works. All data, files, applications, movies, songs, etc., that are available on the Internet are stored on servers connected to the Internet. These servers can be in a private cloud (the company manages its own IT infrastructure); in a public cloud (the company uses the services provided by a specialized cloud provider); or in a hybrid cloud (which combines the company’s infrastructure with that offered by external providers).
Server
All the information on the Internet is stored in data centers like these using smart locks.
When you check your webmail, enter Facebook, or watch a movie on Netflix, you connect to the cloud server that offers this service, which performs the necessary computer processes for you to access the content or use the service. If you had to download it, open it, and run it on your computer or mobile device, or these processes were done on independent servers located in the facilities of each company, everything would be much slower and more complicated, as happened with the Internet in the early years. This large-scale, remote access and information processing are what we now know as Cloud Computing or cloud computing, and it is a fantastic invention.
The problem is that if we constantly connect millions of new objects to the Internet that dump vast amounts of data onto the Network, the capacity of Cloud Computing services has a limit. Of course, we can continue to build new data centers and expand existing ones, but this is very costly, environmentally unsustainable, and ultimately not very smart.
How Does Edge Computing Work?
The solution to this problem is Edge Computing or “computing on edge.” Unlike Cloud Computing, in Edge Computing, computer processing is not carried out in centralized data centers but is distributed throughout the Network. This allows computing to be closer to connected objects, which has two advantages: it avoids data center overload.
It makes information travel less distance between the connected object and the server, which analyzes the data and provides the requested information or service. It is as if, instead of having to go to an ice cream parlor in the city center to taste your favorite ice cream, there was an ice cream cart next to the house, ready to serve you your favorite flavor at any time and without having to travel.
This processing that takes place at the “edge,” rather than the center of the Network (hence the name “Edge Computing” or “edge computing,” is carried out in smaller data centers and closer to the customer, which allows us to offer a faster service. We have been committed to this proximity approach for a long time. That is why we have two data centers; a high-speed network, and our Cloud Computing solutions are available in six countries.
Of course, Edge Computing services have less capacity than a large-scale data center offers. So, the future of the cloud is a hybrid approach: combining high-density data centers, tasked with performing the most demanding tasks, with numerous smaller data centers spread across the entire Network, providing Fast and close Edge Computing services for applications that require it, such as the Internet of Things.
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