The advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud Computing has pushed the boundaries of a new paradigm in computer science that calls for processing data at the edge – i.e., edge computing. Edge Computing essentially takes memory and computing out of traditional data centers and brings them as close as possible to the locations where they are needed, such as mobile phones, tablets, and wireless earphones.
This technology has the potential to provide a more cost-effective computing platform than the cloud, thereby enhancing battery life, data security, and privacy. However, integrating edge computing into other sectors is not without challenges.
There are still a few major challenges to overcome to make edge computing efficient, stable, and user-friendly. Gladly, companies around the globe are actively developing solutions to these problems and protecting them through patenting to profit from the R&D.
Below, we have listed some of these patent solutions for the major technical challenges being faced in edge computing
Challenge: Network Bandwidth
In traditional networks, enterprises would allocate higher bandwidth at central data centers and lower bandwidth to the endpoints. Whereas, in an edge computing server, more bandwidth is required across all individual ends of the server. This creates a need for more bandwidth than in traditional networks.
Solution
The Chinese state-owned telecom giant China United Network Communications filed a patent (CN109151512A) which provides a solution for coping up with Bandwidth issues in Edge Computing. As per the current scenario, the Edge Computing server needs to allocate higher bandwidth to data centers as well as endpoints therefore, the edge server requires comparatively more bandwidth than the traditional network which, in turn, leads to excessive consumption of data.
This patent provides a unique Control Delivery Network (CDN) in which each edge server is assigned a fixed threshold for bandwidth consumption. If due to any terminal request, the current load exceeds the preset threshold, the target content extraction request is transferred to the other edge server having a higher threshold value.
Challenge: Distributed Computing
On most servers, the set of modules is distributed across them. Whereas edge computing tends to bring all the systems closer to the computational areas. This creates a conflict, as the business server must consider the edge server as an additional factor in its computations.
Solution
Beijing Zhixin Microelectronics Technology, a subsidiary of State Grid Information and Communication Industry Group, filed a patent (CN110636007A) that proposes a solution to address issues arising from distributed computing.
Due to the limited processing capacity, a large number of distributed edge nodes cannot provide all services completely and independently and need to cooperate with other edges or cloud data centers through an optical transport network, which itself needs to provide a large number of routes to fulfill the requirements of distributed edge nodes in areas like autonomous cars and blockchain.
This invention suggests breaking down the entire edge server into multiple routes with route-arranging devices located at the edge center. On receiving a connection request, the appropriate route is searched (by matching the source and destination node requirements), and if not found, a new route is formed based on the service and bandwidth requirements.
Challenge: Latency
Latency is essentially the delay caused by data transmission. In an edge server, if the computation is taking place closer to data or if the computation is only happening at the center, latency can be reduced. But usually, due to distributive computing and two-way computation, latency issues occur.
Solution
The South Korean electronics giant Samsung filed a patent (WO2020167074A1) that suggests a solution to latency-related lags.
This invention suggests that, by analyzing the network architecture comprising an edge data center and edge nodes, the programmatically expected latency associated with both the node and the core can be determined. After this, the difference in latency between the two can be determined, on the basis of which the edge transfer process can be optimized.
Challenge: Security and Encryption
Each device in an edge server represents another potentially vulnerable endpoint, and the Internet of Things (IoT) is notorious for its lack of robust security. Also, smaller data centers, such as those in embedded devices, aren’t designed with security measures and aren’t updated as often as they should be.
Solution
The Chinese multinational automotive company Zhejiang Geely Group filed a patent (CN111654375A), which provides a solution to security and encryption issues in edge computing. Zhejiang Automotives has recently partnered with Baidu Technologies to step into the domain of electric and autonomous cars.
Due to the high volume of data exchange between the data center and the edge, edge computing poses significant technical and physical security challenges. Also, for embedded or micro-embedded devices as part of an edge server, security mechanisms need to be scaled and decentralized. Also, it requires more hardware.
The invention relates to a blockchain-based edge computing security encryption method in which the autonomous car receives a traffic data request from the edge module. The car (edge data center), authenticates the request using a multi-level verification system based on encryption and blockchain and accordingly generates action in the steering edge node.
Challenge: Operational Constraints
Due to multiple edge receivers placed at varying distances from the data center, troubleshooting and repairing issues in the framework requires significant logistics and manual input, thereby increasing maintenance costs.
Solution
American multinational giant INTEL filed a patent (WO2020226979A2) which provides an effective solution to cope up with operational constraints and avoid high maintenance, logistical as well as repair costs.
This invention proposes methods for designing a tool comprising multiple chipsets distributed across multiple edges of the entire server. These chipsets identify the software and hardware resources needed to troubleshoot certain issues in order to reduce the human effort every time if a node underperforms or goes down.
Challenge: Data Accumulation
Collecting large amounts of data at either the edge server or the edge node poses significant security and accessibility issues. Also, the transfer of larger quantities of data needs more innovative techniques, which are yet to be researched in the market.
Solution
Data is a major business asse,t and collecting huge chunks of data at the edge is itself a liability. Japanese telecommunication company NTT Communications filed a patent (WO2020116611A1)which provides a solution to solve the data accumulation challenge.
The patent suggests a data retrieval server with an industrial information table for storing edge IDs. These IDs correspond to edge servers operated and managed by a company by associating the edge IDs with an industry ID for identifying the industry and an ID of the company/organization belonging to the industry. In this way, a large amount of data can be divided, stored, and easily accessed in an edge network.
Challenge: Moving System Constraints
Most devices that perform edge computation, such as mobile devices, laptops, in-ear monitors, and wireless earphones, are part of a mobile frame or are with a person in most cases. Implementing exchange of data, security, access to cloud/internet, and many other features in the moving state is a challenge that needs to be overcome.
Solution
In areas like Mobile Edge Computing, when the edge server is moving, various edge-server functionalities (especially the task migration system) may not function properly. One of China’s elite C9 league institutes, Harbin Institute of Technology, filed patent CN111031102A, which provides a solution to challenges arising when the frame is moving.
In this invention, various tasks are allocated to separate edge servers so that, at any given time, only a single task (Single edge server) is active from a single system. This, in turn, reduces exchange between the edge data center and the node, thus reducing inefficiency caused by the mobility of the edge node.
Challenge: Unified Architecture and Release Processes
To accommodate distributive computing with feasible bandwidth requirements and achievable logistics, a more robust architecture is needed to better exploit edge computing features.
Solution
A complex, inefficient, and unstable architecture, if implemented using traditional methods, degrades the performance of Edge deployment targets and traditional data centers. The patent, CN109995546A, filed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation, proposes a unique and effective architecture for edge networks.
The invention proposes an architecture comprising a separate data-collection layer, a cloud-computing processing layer, and an edge-computational processing layer. The data collection layers gather plant data, whereas the two computing layers form the network for calculating an edge event and providing the preset output. An edge calculation processing layer is connected to an industrial SDN (Software-defined network) via a global decision module.
Concluding Notes
Edge Computing is still a growing sector, and many companies are now working on it to develop an “edge” portfolio. Big companies like IBM, Intel, Amazon, Google, and Huawei have already developed portfolios of Edge computing services and solutions.
There’s a lot of brewing, and you would want to know more. This is why in the third part of the edge computing series, we have focused on the major companies and their “Edge portfolio” along with their research activities, collaborations, and acquisitions related to Edge computing technology. You can click here to read the article.