Preface – This post is part of the Edge Computing series.

Introduction

Cloudlets are used in edge computing as small-scale clouds and are situated on the device at the network’s edge. Edge computing is a form of cloud computing widely used for storing and processing data on the internet. The edge is limited to a small scale as it is utilized over the device which can communicate through the internet. But the clouds are verbs that have made it possible to communicate from as much as the distance is in need. With the growth of computing devices and data Management services, the market for cloud computing has also rapidly grown. Obstacles come in between the path of the cloud servers, but edge computing has helped to make an alternative to the problems. So cloudlets are part of cloud computing and are referred to as small-scale clouds. In this article, we will learn about cloudlets.

What is Cloudlet

Cloudlets are clouds at geographical locations. It helps process and loads the data from the devices to the network. It uses the offloading process. In daily terms, the data is processed from a mile distance which can introduce the issue of latency, due to which there might be a data loss over the network. Also, the interruption in the data processing can decrease the user experience. Considering the issues in different sectors, the concept of cloudlet was launched. It helps to develop the data centers at the edge of the internet and becomes the primary reason for resolving the latency issue. By using the loading process, problems of latency and bandwidth were reserved. This concept has many more advantages, such as during any failure, the servers can perform critical services to overcome the situation and repair the loss. But now, the idea of loading has been introduced, which must also be understood.

What is the offloading process?

Devices like mobiles, tablets, and the concept of edge computing are proliferating, and due to this, the need for many features to make the device fit into the needs of the user is also increasing. All the applications run over the mobile market with some resources for smooth working. But the devices themselves are resource constraints as they need power and battery life to be alive. So to make the working of these applications smooth, the resource applications are attached to the cloud using a mechanism which is known as offloading. Here all the processes are done through the cloud, and then results are sent to the smart devices available in our hands. So the whole process is overloaded to the cloud for a smooth result.

Features of Cloudlets

• These can be installed and are self-managing applications.
• They are powerful and can be connected through the internet to make nearby devices available and used through them.
• It is highly scalable, and only needful information is transmitted to the cloud. Hence resolving the issue of data storage.
• It offers privacy to the data as the data is before the owner.

Conclusion

Edge computing has grown very fast. Even time has occurred when devices without edge computing cannot be possible with the same performance we are experiencing now. There are many advantages of introducing cloud lets in edge computing, such as latency reduction, bandwidth-related issues resolved, improved privacy, and many more. But cloudlets are also experiencing challenges, such as ensuring automated provisioning in their growth path.