5G and Edge Computing: enabling AI at the edge with High Performance Edge Computers and IoT

The adoption of 5G networks is bringing new opportunities to a variety of industries. A key aspect of 5G is that it enables software-defined networks (SDN) for an easier data and device management on intelligent software layers.

To unlock the potential of 5G, there is the need of an open edge ecosystem of hardware, software, application and network components to enable private 5G networks and open RAN infrastructures to run IoT and AI applications closer to the source of data.

Edge computing plays a pivotal role here: as 5G allows the transfer of very large amounts of data at an incredible speed, it requires a proper infrastructure of edge nodes to de-load the core network and allow a better, local management of data.

Eurotech has recently joined the O-RAN Alliance to enable open and standard based solution to accelerate the development and deployment of 5G-based applications with no vendor lock-in. These solutions are enabled by Eurotech's High Performance Edge Computing (HPEC) systems and IoT hardware and software components.

High Performance Edge Computing means bringing server and data center-class capabilities into computing devices in the field. They must provide a lot of computing power, storage capacity and network bandwidth to manage huge amounts of data generated by an increasing number of sensors and devices.

In industrial environments, bringing these capabilities to the edge means providing systems to comply with certifications and providing rugged and fanless systems to provide reliable performance in often extreme environmental conditions.

They are ideal for applications where space is at a premium and where there is no room to setup a proper air cooling. In addition, they can be integrated with a liquid cooling system for more computational density.

These edge nodes enable the deployment of private 5G networks and have virtualization and high-performance, server-class computing, data logging and networking capabilities to run multiple, virtualized applications and RAN infrastructures in a hyper-converged environment running on the same piece of hardware.

Eurotech hardware can be complemented by Eurotech’s edge software stack, Everyware Software Framework (ESF). Eurotech’s IoT Edge Framework simplifies and accelerates the development and deployment of applications at the edge and the integration with the cloud for the remote management of devices in the field.

This is where the virtualization happens and where the OT (Operational Technology) infrastructure level is bridged with the IT (Information Technology) application level. Edge software frameworks with certified north-bound connectivity for integration of data ingestions and edge and device management operations is also as critical.

Servitization and security can only be offered through device management feature such as remote configuration management and OTA updates. Eurotech’s IoT Edge Management Platform, Everyware Cloud (EC), provides an answer to these needs.

Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) offers cloud computing capabilities and IT infrastructure and services at the edge of the network. To enable this, Eurotech provides rugged and fanless edge servers for hyper-converged infrastructure at the edge: this allows simpler and faster integration between IT and OT infrastructures, even in the harshest environments.

Multi-access Edge Computing provides an ideal solutions to manage 5G network traffic among distributed edge servers/edge nodes that can gather and process large amounts of IoT data at the edge. The main benefits of Multi-access Edge Computing are:

• Reduced latency
• Offload of heavy traffic from the core network
• Optimized delivery of regional content
• Ability to run essential services at the edge, such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software Defined Networking (SDN) caching, AI and non-network applications

The rise of 5G networks brought many challenges in terms of integration with existing infrastructures and management of larger amount of data due to the increased bandwidth. The need for reduced latency in mission-critical applications makes edge computing essential.

With Eurotech’s high-performance edge computing components in place, customers can easily integrate the IT and the OT domains and enable virtualized 5G or RAN infrastructures at the edge, working on an hyper-converged infrastructure of different applications running on the same hardware platform.

Many industries can benefit from the integration of AI, IoT, virtualization, 5G and edge computing:

• Industrial and Automation
• Telecom and OTT (Over-The-Top) streaming services operators
• Oil&Gas
• Disaster recovery and Defense
• Transportation and automotive

Mission-critical industrial applications such as advanced robotics need an immediate response to critical events in order to avoid damages or malfunctions.

5G enables a faster exchange of data and information: latency is dramatically reduced and immediate response can be given in order to avoid accidents. This must be supported by an adequate hardware infrastructure to sustain ultra-high-speed data logging capacity, as 5G enables the transfer of very large amounts of data.

By bringing server-class data logging capacity closer to the source of data, Eurotech’s HPECs are ideal for these applications, and enable more and more connected and autonomous factories.

To properly run 5G networks, Telecom operators need a lot of base stations at the edge to de-load the core network from the huge bandwidth provided by 5G. Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming service companies must rely on a solid edge server infrastructure for a better and local management of data streams.

Eurotech provides a scalable and open edge ecosystem of hardware and software components to answer the needs of a wide range of applications. Operators can build a distributed network of edge nodes to run virtualized RAN infrastructures at the edge for faster and more efficient data acquisition and management.

This allows faster and more efficient data streaming for better communication and video quality.

Multi-access Edge Computing can be particularly beneficial for the Oil & Gas industry in terms of increasing operational efficiency and profitability of oil platforms, often located in remote areas and far from the enterprise data center infrastructures.

A typical platform generates around 2TB of data per day, and the cost to transfer all that data can be really high. Moreover, data are traditionally managed by satellite networks, which take days to transfer all of the data to the data center.

Building a private 5G network in these remote areas can greatly improve daily operations by providing higher data speed and reduced latency, as data would be processed completely at the edge. Enabling a data center infrastructure based on rugged edge computers, designed to sustain extreme temperatures, can be ideal to manage data in such extreme conditions.

Disaster recovery represent another scenario where 5G and edge computing can play a pivotal role. The need to set up or restore high-availability, secure network communications for rescuing people require highly-portable and rugged computers to manage that data communications. By providing high-performance edge nodes between the damaged area and the main data center can speed up recovery operations.

Moreover, military applications require to setup and dismantle networking infrastructures very quickly. Eurotech’s HPECs provide docking stations for easy in-vehicle installation, so that they can be mounted and replaced very quickly.

Latency in communications is a very critical issues in transportation and automotive applications. Advanced on-board sensors like cameras, RARARs and LIDARs generate TeraBytes of data in a very short time span. 

Even a delay of milliseconds can be crucial: a vehicle driving at 130Kmph would cover around 30cm in 10 milliseconds, and this could cause an accident if on-board systems not able to provide an immediate response and stop at the right time.

5G and edge computing capabilities like those provided by Eurotech’s High-performance Edge Computers allow unprecedented data logging speed to cover these critical situations.