We often hear a lot about Cloud Computing in the tech world, but Fog Computing is real trend that is starting to take hold. So what exactly is Fog Computing?
Think about the way cloud computing has abstracted computing resources such as compute, storage and bandwidth. Fog Computing exists on the outer edges of the cloud and its main purpose is to interact with IoT devices.
When you explain Fog Computing as existing on the outer edges of the cloud, its important to realize that Fog Computing is part of the cloud itself; just a more streamlined version of a cloud resource that specifically exists to rapidly interact with other devices in the cloud.
Think about the inevitable cloud connected, driverless cars of the future. How will those cars communicate with each other? Does it make sense to risk car to car communications by sending data across the cloud and having latency impact the communication? Why don’t the cars just interact with each other and beam data into cloud when needed?
That’s what industry analysts mean when they talk about Fog Computing. In a press release, CeBIT mentions, “In view of the fact that many IoT devices are small, need to run on a tiny amount of electric power and perform only narrowly defined functions, they need a “big brother” who can give them the “right” amount of computing power.”
The CeBIT release goes on to say,“This is a job which the Cloud performs perfectly. But in the case where information is needed only locally and for just a short period of time, the situation becomes quite different: Data of this kind needs to be processed quickly, preferably onsite, without any need to store the data.”
Internet connected devices that have available computing power interact with each other, rather than travel across an entire cloud infrastructure to make a successful communication. The cloud to car example is just one example of this robust technology.
The applications of Fog Computing are endless. Fog Computing will become more prevalent in consumer related applications. Think about the technical advances the finance industry could muster up using the idea of Fog Computing. The Cloud Computing trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, yet, you should start to hear more about Fog Computing in the upcoming years.
