EDGE CENTRES
very interesting challenge that is likely to be a defining element of urban edge deployments over the decade to come : where do you put it ?
“ The edge has become more than just figuring out a solution for edge computing ; it ' s also become an exercise in figuring out how to build this new layer of critical infrastructure into densely populated areas with next to no available land and have it still be secure ,” says Eaves . “ We ' ve had a customer contact us in Indonesia that needs multiple points of presence for their app to work . Our proof of concept involves these mini edge modules , which are even smaller versions of our standard sites using units built by DataQube – which are protected by inconspicuous , but highly effective , armour plating . Because we can ' t fence them off from the general population , we need to camouflage them in such a way that they can be put all over the place and not invite any attention at all . The goal is to basically make them invisible .”
The test unit is a gunmetal grey box , which has been pre-defaced with graffiti and old movie posters and placed right in the middle of a busy neighbourhood in Jakarta . Eaves explains that “ when you see it you ' d actually think you were just looking at an HV transformer - a small substation - which cities in Indonesia are full of . It looks like it ' s been sitting there for years .”
As the number of edge devices on the planet spikes exponentially year on year – and a tidal wave of data subsequently threatens to overwhelm our networks – migrating processing power to the edge is going to be a vital part of handling the traffic from billions of devices , IoT sensors , autonomous vehicles , and other trappings of the digital age . However , finding a way to integrate this new
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