Comparative Study of Cloud Computing and Edge Computing: Three Level Architecture Models and Security Challenges

The procreation of IoT (Internet of Things), mobile internet and the attainment of cloud computing services have innovated a new computing archetype, known as edge computing. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, worldwide data will reach about 180 zettabytes (ZB) and out of which 70% of data generated by IoT devices will be processed on the edge of the network by 2025. IDC also forecasts the IoT devices connected to reach 150 billion by 2025. Edge computing has the ability to deal with the huge volume of data and to handle the requirement of response time, data handling, bandwidth cost saving, along with privacy and data security. Edge computing enables low latency, mobility, and real-time data processing at a very faster pace. This paper is meant to introduce with the notion of edge computing, the three-level architecture of the edge model with the detailed difference between the edge computing model and the traditional cloud model. The various edge models that enable processing at the edge includes mobile edge computing, fog computing and cloudlet computing. Possessing the various advantages and models, edge computing still suffers from various security challenges. The paper concludes stating the security challenges that edge computing still need to focus upon.