In episode 17 of The Cutting Edge Podcast, Leonard Lee discusses edge native in the context of edge computing.
Highlights
00:23 — Leonard starts out by introducing the term edge native, what it is and what it means for the future of edge computing.
01:15 — Cloud native is a term used to describe technologies and architectures used in cloud computing, namely microservices architecture, containers and, now, serverless. Collectively, these enable the paradigm of software development, infrastructure management, and the everything-as-a-service IT delivery models.
01:52 — Edge native is a twist on cloud-native but it factors in the nuances and challenges that come with extending cloud computing and cloud app development toward the edge.
02:23 — We have edge native-ish networks today. They’re called application acceleration-slash-delivery networks, but there is a matter of network and resource awareness that is yet to be embedded in them.
02:48 — The idea of edge native is to expose the functions of a software-defined network to developers so they can build network- and edge-resource-aware applications that can be placed optimally across an edge infrastructure. Placement is important because the edge native application workload and data need to be deployed at an edge node location that is optimally capable of delivering the application services with the quality of service required.
03:48 — From an infrastructure perspective, edge native means dynamic management orchestration and placement of application images, workloads, and data across an edge infrastructure. Edge native enables a new breed of distributed applications that can take advantage of edge cloud infrastructures with network location- and compute resource-awareness.
04:21 — Challenges with building edge native applications include resource diversity. There’s a fast-growing range of instances and services offered by your public cloud provider. It’s not that easy to host such a diversity of infrastructure hardware and software and instance options the further you go toward the edge.
05:07 — Portability is also an issue. Heterogeneous edge clouds and traditional telco cloud silos present obstacles for applications to transverse the edge. Much of this is due to interoperability nuances.
05:57 — Edge native will be primarily relevant for edge infrastructure supporting mobile applications on a public mobile network or private industrial environment. Edge native will change the way we manage workloads across a cluster of edge clouds.
07:02 — Edge native will change the way applications will be developed on edge infrastructure. It will be deployed in a fashion that is location- and context-aware and is mindful of infrastructure service quality and assurance. Tools and platforms are being developed by familiar players such as VMware, IBM Red Hat, and hyperscalers such as Microsoft and AWS.
08:16 — Most of the C-suite is not going to care about edge native. Developers, system architects, and CTOs should get really excited. They have to learn the rules of edge native, especially in regard to security: What are the implications? What needs to be managed? What risks need to be mitigated?
