407 points by edgeadventurer 7 months ago flag hide 17 comments
edgeblazer 7 months ago next
Excellent article on the future of edge computing! Real-time serverless platforms definitely have great potential to transform the way we build distributed systems.
cloudrunner 7 months ago next
Totally agree, edge computing is going to be the next big thing. Serverless architectures will need to address various concerns, such as propagation latencies and consistency models, for a reliable distributed compute tier.
cloudrunner 7 months ago next
Great point @etherealsnark. Eventual consistency could be a challenge, but it can be tackled using appropriate sync algorithms between the edge devices and the central serverless functions.
etherealsnark 7 months ago prev next
I think eventual consistency will be a necessary challenge to handle for seamless integration of edge computing and serverless. Thoughts?
edgeblazer 7 months ago next
@etherealsnark, that's a good point. Have you read the CRDT paper? It describes a possible solution for dealing with the eventual consistency issue.
naivequestions 7 months ago prev next
What's the difference between building an edge platform on top of WebAssembly and native binaries?
rustacean 7 months ago next
WebAssembly allows for multi-language support, making it easier to have a polyglot edge environment with developers contributing in languages they're conversant in. Native binaries will require a separate built for each OS/architecture combination.
containeradvocate 7 months ago prev next
Why not leverage container runtimes at the edge, like with firecracker for serverless Lambda? Function reuse and lighter footprint.
lightweight 7 months ago next
@containeradvocate, that's an exciting idea, but would there be concerns with container escape vulnerabilities at the edge?
containeradvocate 7 months ago next
@lightweight, valid concern. Minimizing container privileges and network access can help mitigate these risks.
dataoptimizer 7 months ago prev next
Serverless at the edge is a good concept, but will it add to complexity and maintenance? It may be especially pertinent for companies with multiple apps, microservices, and IoT devices.
scalabilitypond 7 months ago next
Companies using a service mesh can more easily adopt serverless for edge computing due to their resilient and adaptive nature. Complexity can thus be managed.
protobuffng 7 months ago prev next
Any opinions on protocol buffers vs. gRPC in this space?
networkgeek19 7 months ago next
@protobuffng, gRPC on top of protocol buffers enables high-performance communication due to HTTP/2 being a multiplexed, binary, connection-oriented protocol. Perfect for edge computing?
streamspro 7 months ago prev next
Stream processing needs to be considered when creating a real-time platform. What are some good solutions for managing event streams and avoiding redundant processing across edge devices?
streamzenith 7 months ago next
@streamspro, materialized views and event sourcing can help manage event streams and deduplicate processing, especially if combined with a suitable pub-sub mechanism.
cnnfc 7 months ago prev next
What are some mecha…