Where is the edge in edge computing?

Edge computing has become the IT industry’s hot “new” term. Media outlets, vendors (including Cisco!), and analysts alike are all touting the value of edge computing, particularly for Internet of Things (IoT) implementations. While most agree that there are benefits to processing compute functions “at the edge,” coming to an agreement on what exactly constitutes the edge is another thing altogether.

In 2015, Dr. Karim Arabi, vice president, engineering at Qualcomm Inc., defined edge computing as, “All computing outside cloud happening at the edge of the network.”

Dr. Arabi’s definition is commonly agreed upon. However, at Cisco — the leader in networking — we see the edge a little differently. Our viewpoint is that the edge is anywhere that data is processed before it crosses the Wide Area Network (WAN). Before you start shaking your head in protest, hear me out.

The benefits of edge computing

The argument for edge computing goes something like this: By handling the heavy compute processes at the edge rather than the cloud, you reduce latency and can analyze and act on time-sensitive data in real-time — or very close to it. This one benefit — reduced latency — is huge.

Reducing latency opens up a host of new IoT use cases, most notably autonomous vehicles. If an autonomous vehicle needs to break to avoid hitting a pedestrian, the data must be processed at the edge. By the time the data gets to the cloud and instructions are sent back to the car, the pedestrian could be dead.

The other often cited benefit of edge computing is the bandwidth or cost required to send data to the cloud. To be clear, there’s plenty of bandwidth available to send data to the cloud. Bandwidth is not the issue. The issue is the cost of that bandwidth. Those costs are accrued when you hit the WAN — it doesn’t matter where the data is going. In a typical network the LAN is a very cheap and reliable link, whereas the WAN is significantly more expensive. Once it hits the WAN, you’re accruing higher costs and latency.

Defining WHERE edge computing is

If we can agree that reduced latency and reduced cost are key characteristics of edge computing, then sending data over the WAN — even if it’s to a private data center in your headquarters — is NOT edge computing. To put it another way, edge computing means that data is processed before it crosses any WAN, and therefore is NOT processed in a traditional data center, whether it be a private or public cloud data center.

The following picture illustrates the typical devices in an Industrial IoT solution and who claims to have “Edge Compute” in this topology:

As you can see, the edge is relative. The service provider’s edge is not the customer’s edge. But the most important difference between the edge compute locations depicted is the network connectivity. End devices, IoT appliances, and routers are connected via the LAN — maybe Wi-Fi or Gigabit Ethernet cable. That is usually a very reliable and cheap link. The link between the routers/gateways and cell tower, is the most critical. That’s the last mile from the service provider. It introduces the most latency and is the most expensive for the end customer. It is the 5G or 4G uplink. Once you’re on the cell tower, the provider has fiber and you’re safe from a throughput perspective, but then you’re looking at increasing costs.

As you can also infer from the graphic, end devices should be excluded from edge compute because it can be near impossible to draw the line between things, smart things and edge compute things.

What’s old is new

We can take the concept of edge computing a step further and assert that it’s not new at all. In fact, we as an IT industry have been doing edge computing for quite some time. Remember how we learned about the cyclic behavior of compute centralization and compute decentralization? Edge compute is basically the latest term for decentralized compute.

The edge can mean very different things to different organizations, depending on the network infrastructure and use case. However, if you think about the edge in terms of the benefits you want to achieve, then it becomes clear very quickly where the edge of your IT environment begins and ends.

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Three IoT trends to watch this month

The world of IoT continues to grow as our more than 70,000 customers take their deployments to the next level. Whether or not you are attending Cisco Live in Barcelona on January 27th – 30th, you will want to tune in. Cisco will be making a lot of announcements, and addressing these three IoT trends.

1. The network is the foundation for both IT and OT environments, but a multi-domain architecture is key

While the network has always been the backbone for IT, it has quickly become the foundation for operational technology (OT) environments as well. OT needs data to help them improve customer experiences, enhance safety, increase efficiencies, and reduce costs. There is no better way to achieve these results than by mining data from key assets such as a machine on a factory floor, a fleet of service vehicles, or a remote pipe line. And this is where the importance of the network expands from IT into OT environments. To get the data that OT needs, assets must securely connect to a reliable network.  And with the amount of devices being connected, not just any network will do. Only Cisco is providing a true multi-domain architecture bringing common visibility and management across all domains – including the OT domain – making IoT projects easier to scale.  Look for how we are bringing bigger value to this network in the upcoming weeks.

2. Edge compute and getting the most value out of your data

Edge compute is creating a new set of use cases and business models by allowing data to be accessed and processed at the edge – without ever traversing the WAN. It allows organizations to deploy real-time applications anywhere – even on the side of the road where every second counts to ensure pedestrian and driver safety. Edge is a critical part of our IoT strategy as we work to bring the power of the enterprise to edge environments. It is integrated with our network so applications are easier to manage and deploy. As 5G and other innovation accelerators enter the market, Cisco is ready with edge computing solutions wherever they are needed, even harsh and remote environments.

As part of this, we will talk about the challenges around harnessing the data that will bring your business to the next level.  Does your organization have data deluge? Or a data drought? Do you know who has access to your data and who doesn’t? Getting the right data to the right person at the right time can be critical to saving lives, edging out the competition, or reducing downtime. The key to doing this is Cisco IoT solutions. We will discuss how Cisco can help organizations tackle the data challenge including its collection, transformation and delivery so that you can make sense of it all.

3. Security at the edge is more critical than ever, and IT and OT need to work together for its success

As millions of devices come online in operational environments, the cyber security risks grow exponentially. So, as the network becomes more distributed to connect these industrial environments, the security must become distributed too. In factories, for example, machine controllers are now smarter. They have their own software and CPU helping create more agile manufacturing environments. But, the combination of their intelligence and their network connectivity, is also making them more vulnerable to attacks. We will address how organizations can more easily secure these OT environments at scale.

Also, we touch on the importance of IT and OT working together. In order to implement security properly, a very diverse skillset is required – a skillset that only IT and OT together, can provide. IT understands how to secure networks, while OT are experts at optimizing their processes. Bringing together the knowledge of the network and security with the knowledge of the business and its process is critical for success. In the upcoming weeks, stay tuned as to how organizations can do this all successfully with Cisco.

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Bridging the divide: Getting IT and OT to work together for industrial IoT

Industrial IoT has the potential to transform business processes in manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, and more. However, organizations must first overcome numerous challenges, one of which is bridging the divide between IT and operational technology (OT). Having the right people involved and working together toward an IoT initiative is critical for achieving a seamless, secure and successful end-to-end design.

We often hear customers describe what it is they want out of an IoT deployment: a dashboard with buttons that allows them to see data or analytics of that data to understand what is happening in the operating environment. It’s obvious they have a clear vision of the outcome they want, but they don’t know how to get there. And they can’t — at least, not by themselves.  One of the biggest reasons why IoT projects fail is because line of business expectations aren’t managed correctly, or because IT and OT didn’t work together to validate if a solution is feasible with current technology and skill sets.

The IoT tech stack is complex and fragmented. Organizations have to pick the right sensors, select the machines to be connected, choose a connectivity method, and then build the networking, application, and business intelligence layers (often incorporating cloud and multiple applications) on top. To further complicate matters, companies are looking to connect many different (often legacy) machines that have never before been connected. Different protocols must be parsed and cleaned up so that technologies further up the stack can ingest and understand the data.

No single department is capable of navigating all the different technical options and making the best decisions for a seamless, secure IoT deployment. While OT may be able to choose sensors and machines to connect, and IT may be able to build the remainder of the tech stack, these decisions can’t be made in silos. The digitalization of machine data creates a technical convergence, and both sides must work together to make IoT work. IoT is a team sport.

When the right people come together to solve a business problem with IoT, it becomes much easier to build a successful solution. Four primary groups or individuals include:

The line of business:

Representatives from lines of business can articulate the business need. These people are experts in higher level business strategy, sales, marketing, how to go to market, etc. For the line of business, IoT is a means to an end to achieve a business objective. These people can envision the dashboard and contribute to process and organizational design. While they may or may not own the budget, the line of business defines and creates the demand for a business improvement.

IT department:

The IT department is responsible for the enterprise IT infrastructure. The department’s main concerns are security, scalability, and manageability. They work in a fast, dynamic environment. IT is always under pressure to get things done—and to do more with less. When it comes to an IoT deployment, the IT department is concerned with the tech stack from the network out to the edge.

OT department:

The OT department is generally responsible for the equipment on the shop floor. They are concerned about quality, uptime and maintenance of machinery that is typically two to three decades old. Often times, the machines produce data that doesn’t go anywhere. There’s a human/machine interface where operator receives data and makes decisions. The OT department plays a key role in connecting machinery on the shop floor for an IoT deployment.

Procurement:

Procurement is responsible for finding products and services at the best cost. Sometimes this means breaking up solutions and buying components piecemeal. It’s best to bring procurement on board sooner than later so that they understand that the broad spectrum of components in an IoT deployment come from one ecosystem of integration. If a solution is broken up into bits and pieces, none of the solution providers will feel motivated to deliver the best possible service.

Even with these parties at the decision-making table, there are likely to be gray areas. Organizations often have to experiment or partner with a provider for technology that they don’t have the skills to work with internally. Of course, it’s important to get the right skills at the right time for the right cost.

At Cisco, we work hard to pull together the key technologies and partners required to deliver seamless, secure solutions that span the manufacturing floor to the cloud. Our partner ecosystem consists of large systems integrators, service providers, OT partners, distributors, and a variety of others. We span and bring together both the IT and OT worlds to create harmony and cohesion across our customer’s organization, our Cisco partner ecosystem and through the solution itself via Cisco Validated designs to ensure a successful IoT initiative.

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How 5G Will Accelerate Industrial IoT

2019 is shaping up to be a remarkable time in the 5G technology global roll-out. With its higher data rate, ultra-reliable and lower latency connectivity, and massive scale of machine-to-machine communication, 5G carries enormous potential.

With 5G and cellular, consumers will enjoy UHD 4K/8K video streaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, immersive entertainment, and interactive gaming – a great personal experience.

But, how will 5G boost the industrial market? Will it translate to big opportunities in the next decade across manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, utilities, transportation, and other verticals? Let’s explore how 5G will accelerate industrial IoT (IIoT).

Diversity in Industrial IoT

Industrial IoT offers lots of opportunities. The use cases span the spectrum: from indoor to outdoor, less demanding to mission-critical, data rate from dozens of bps to gbps, device motion from fixed to mobility, and power source from button battery to high voltage.

Some of the most common scenarios for IIoT include predictive maintenance, smart metering, asset tracking, and fleet management. 5G will create continued diversity and expansion for the possibilities of IIoT.

5G Inspires Untapped Frontiers

Many industrial IoT use cases mandate wide mobility, low latency, and mission-critical reliability, such as mobile robot control in production automation and autonomous vehicles in open pit mining. These use cases rely on wireless access at 50ms to 1ms latency and service reliability from 5 nines to 6 nines.

4G/LTE has attempted to address these use cases,but has often failed due to unsatisfactory performance. 5G’s combination of ultra-reliable and low latency connection will extend industrial IoT to unconquered spaces.

Managing the Enterprise 5G Network

Typically, enterprise IT is responding to the business demand from Operational Technology (OT) and mandates security, integration, visibility, control, and compatibility. In this scenario, 5G is not about “what,” but about “how.” IT needs to consider the right approach to bring 5G to the enterprise and decide whether to co-manage with the service provider (SP) or self-manage. The experience of IT in managing Industrial Ethernet and Wi-Fi may not hold when it comes to 5G. IT will likely require OT’s partnership to address complexity, security, integration, and other new challenges that 5G presents.

Multiple Access Technologies Coexisting

What are Cisco customers saying? We’re seeing an eagerness to move to 5G, but also concerns around coverage and costs. The video streaming and interactive gaming we mentioned before are going to gobble up data. And data = $$$.

While excited for the coming of 5G, customers realize that other access technologies will continue their irreplaceable roles in various capacities:

◈ Manufacturing needs strictly deterministic time synchronization for discrete automation. Industrial Ethernet is the only option today offering TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking) capability. HD video surveillance and AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) operation around the warehouse requires higher throughput and full wireless coverage. Wi-Fi 6 is the more flexible and economical option in this case.

◈ Mining and oil/gas customers want to connect production fleets, trucks, assets, and workers at remote sites. It might make sense to use private LTE to solve for the lack of public cellular coverage.

◈ Utility advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) demands millions of electricity meters get connected at lower costs. RF-Mesh is commonly adopted by running on unlicensed ISM bands and resilient self-formed topology.

The beauty of access technologies is that they don’t – and won’t – compete with each other, but instead work together to meet the diverse requirements of IIoT from different angles. To find success, customers should marry 5G and Wi-Fi 6 to existing technologies, as driven by use cases.

Cisco is committed to helping those with secured access technologies embrace the advent of both 5G and Wi-Fi 6. We are constantly exploring use cases that support future technology development and how to achieve the best outcomes. Our latest industrial wireless portfolio, including the Cisco IR1101 Integrated Services Router Rugged, is a prime example of building for the future.

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Cisco Ranked #1 in Market Share for Industrial Networking

When people think of networking, they think of Cisco. But in the industrial networking space, sometimes that isn’t the case. In the past, organizations connecting areas such as manufacturing floors, oil rigs, traffic intersections relied on specialized vendors for their industrial IoT networking needs. Not anymore. I am proud to announce that for the second year in row, Cisco is #1 in industrial networking market share. This includes layer 2 and layer 3 switching, wireless and routing. In fact, according to IHS, Cisco is the only major vendor growing across all categories.

No Longer Will Any Networking Solution Do

Data from IoT projects is critical to helping organizations stay competitive.  But problems with scale, IoT security and complexity block progress. More and more, operations are bringing in IT specialists to overcome these issues and lay a solid network foundation to help ensure project success. And this is where Cisco is uniquely equipped to help.

Cisco Enterprise Networking and Security

Other networking solutions are more complex. To connect an IoT deployment, IT often must add another domain. This creates added burden, forcing IT to manage one more network. And with the large number of devices connected, manual setup and operations isn’t an option. Only Cisco offers an integrated multi-domain networking architecture. It extends the powerful capabilities of the enterprise network, including intent-based networking, to the IoT edge. With Cisco intent-based networking (IBN), you can automate key IT functions and provide centralized visibility and control across your entire network – from your campus to your branch, data center and to your IoT deployments.

And because most IoT projects bring more risk, security must be part of the equation. We are uniquely positioned to deliver a fully integrated Cisco security architecture without gaps in coverage. Our multi-layered, built-in approach is across every layer of our IoT stack. Coupled with our multi-domain architecture and intent-based networking, you can enforce unified security policies throughout your enterprise.

These networking and security capabilities provide scale and security unlike anyone else in the market so that you can deploy with confidence.

Industrial Protocol Interoperability

The second part of the equation adds interoperability and compliance. To get data, a large number of IoT sensors and machines must connect to the Internet. But the protocols they use are not common in traditional IT networks. Our industrial networking products support a wide variety of industrial protocols such as Modbus, Profinet, CIP, and IEC 61850 GOOSE. You get interoperability and compliance with the network scale and security you need.

The Right Form Factor and Design

The third part of the equation ensures that you can scale and deploy IoT wherever you need it. Key business operations are not always in the headquarters or the branch office. The data you need can be on the front lines of your operations like in remote oil pipelines, dirty/dusty manufacturing floors, or service vehicles. None of these are conducive to rack-mounted, ambient temperature network products. To help you connect, Cisco IoT offers ruggedized and heavy-duty routers, switches and wireless access points in small and modularized form factors. We have built them to withstand extreme temperatures, dust and moisture, and vibration. They come in sizes that are small enough to deploy in cars or on light poles or wherever you need it – not just in a 19-inch rack. And unlike many other vendors, no extra enclosures required!

Cisco Industrial Networking: The Foundation for IoT Success

When added together, these are the core networking capabilities that you need as a foundation for a successful IoT project. IT gets the network that they know and trust without added burden. Operations gets a solid network foundation that is reliable, scalable and secure and that works in their environment allowing them to capture the data the need to move the business forward.

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Manufacturing mobility: Data, voice, video, and location

Manufacturers use wireless to increase margins, reduce cycle times, enable lean, and improve equipment productivity. While pervasive wireless connects sensors, tools, robots, AGVs, and RFID devices, it also enables mobility. Mobility supports far more than just cell phones, tablets, and laptops.

Very simply put, mobility drives data, voice, video and location applications.

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