4 Software and system frameworks
This chapter covers
- What functions do edge systems provide. While edge devices serve diverse markets and use cases, there are some common elements within edge software that are typical and found on nearly every edge or IOT solution
- Developing an understanding of common edge frameworks and their high-level overview
- Digital Twin technology
- Definition and architecture of fog computing and mist computing
- An overview of centralized and decentralized computing for the edge
The previous chapter provided groundwork on edge hardware and cursory fundamentals of networking. We learned that edge systems are not ubiquitous and standard. Each edge application typically comes with bespoke hardware, IO, communication interfaces, and performance requirements. The same holds true for the software running on different edge machines. The architecture of edge systems also needs to consider the software environment running on the machine. This chapter supplies a high-level view of edge software. This includes device environments called frameworks.
Later chapters will explore specific edge applications such as machine learning and federated computing. This chapter is constructed to explore edge frameworks and the typical features all edge devices share in software.