Serverless edge computing is a new technology with a lot of promise, but it can also be complex to understand. This article aims to demystify the topic and show you what serverless edge computing is and why it’s essential.
An Overview of Serverless Edge Computing
Generally, serverless computing is a type of cloud computing that allows developers to run their applications without worrying about the infrastructure. This can especially be very helpful in situations where you don’t have control over your hardware or servers and want to leverage the cloud instead.
The idea behind serverless edge computing is similar: running code on devices connected directly with users or another gadget instead of using something like an internet connection or private network, hence the term edge.
For example, say that you are using an application’s photo-tagging feature on your phone. When you take a photo using this feature, it’ll be sent back through its servers for them to process it. Then those servers may be able to share the photo across multiple platforms without any extra work needed from your or their end because they’ve already done all necessary processing beforehand.
To ensure a responsive and fast network, serverless edge deploys servers and storage closer to the geographical location of the end-user. And with that, serverless doesn’t necessarily do away with servers, but it merely abstracts them from the application development process. In this case, you can develop your apps without worrying about the servers underlying them!
In addition, because of this same proximity to the end-user, the serverless edge is able to operate more devices over a LAN bandwidth that’s both smaller and more efficient. This can also lead to decreased congestion and latency problems in general. Local storage in this setting is concentrated on collecting and protecting raw data, while the local servers are responsible for pre-processing and reducing the data. And this allows decisions to be made faster before results can be sent to a central data center or the cloud.
The Characteristics and Features Of Serverless Edge Computing
What distinguishes serverless edge computing and makes it as revolutionary as it is? Part of the answer to that question is in its characteristics and features. To name a few, here are some of them:
- Serverless Architecture: The software system is composed of multiple functions that can run in isolation from each other. Communication between functions can be achieved via service APIs.
- Fault-Tolerant: The system can tolerate failures at runtime due to its lightweight design.
- Stateless: Function instances are ephemeral and will disappear after completing their tasks or failing.
- Elastic: Meaning it scales automatically as usage increases or decreases. And it’s optimized for low latency, so there are no performance hiccups when using cloud services.
In addition, with serverless edge computing, you wouldn’t need any software installed on your device. All you may need is an internet connection and a working browser.
How Serverless Edge Computing Works And What It Can Be Used For
Serverless edge computing works similarly to the cloud, but it has a different purpose. The main difference between serverless computing and traditional cloud computing is that each device has its own dedicated micro servers and infrastructure rather than relying on a central server. This means that each device can perform complex tasks without needing to send data back to a central location for processing.
This architecture makes it possible for devices to complete tasks more quickly and efficiently, although it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re faster than their centralized counterparts from a user perspective. Serverless edge computing is most useful for IoT and machine learning devices that need fast response times for real-time applications like autonomous vehicles or industrial robots.
This innovation also makes it easier for developers to create new applications. The reason behind it is that they don’t have to worry about building their own servers or dealing with latency issues caused by sending data over long distances.
Benefits Of Edge Computing
Considering the features that come with it, there are various ways serverless edge computing can be to your and your organization’s advantage. Some of them include the following:
- Faster Deployment:
Serverless infrastructure doesn’t use one huge stack but instead runs by using a group of functions provided by a particular vendor. This means you will have the freedom to act quicker when trying to release something that might previously have required heavy backend configuration elsewhere. If you decide to update only certain functions of your application at some point, you will be able to do so without needing to fix and update the whole app and this can have tremendous effects on your overall deployment times!
- Lower Costs:
Serverless applications require less upfront investment than traditional cloud applications because they’re built with managed services instead of custom code – so you don’t need to pay for hardware upfront. You also get to benefit from paying only for what you use: you only pay for the resources required by your application when it’s running, not reserved ahead of time.
- Reduced Latency:
Latency refers to the lag between the time an instruction to transfer data or perform an action is given, and the time that action is performed. Even a fraction of a second matters in many settings, such as on a busy roadway where this data must be used to ensure safety.
With serverless edge computing, it can give you access to an application with virtually no latency or delay. This means that users will have faster access to their data, which can help boost safety and productivity and allow them to make better decisions faster.
- Increased Scalability:
You can scale up or down as demand increases or decreases without having to worry about managing infrastructure because the cloud provider can do that for you. This can make it easier for you to adapt your business model as needed, making it easier for you to respond quickly to market changes and other factors outside of your control as your business expands.
Conclusion
As you can tell, there is a lot to be excited about when it comes to serverless edge computing. This technology has the potential to do some amazing things, and IT specialists, developers, and software engineers are just starting to scratch the surface.