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How blockchain works behind Edge Computing

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Blockchain and edge computing can work together to bring the computation and storage of data closer to their sources. Generally, blockchain is thought to be only limited to cryptocurrency. But, in this day and age, blockchain is about much more than just digital money.

The importance of edge computing

Edge computing is an emerging technology that has become increasingly popular in recent years. It is a form of distributed computing that enables data to be processed and stored closer to the user or device instead of in a remote data center. By bringing computing power closer to the edge, edge computing can reduce latency and improve efficiency. Blockchain technology is being used to further enhance the capabilities of edge computing.

The main benefit of combining blockchain with edge computing is that it allows for secure communication and data processing without the need for a centralized server or third-party services. This is accomplished by using blockchain’s distributed ledger technology to securely store and process data. As each transaction is recorded on the blockchain, it is digitally signed and encrypted, ensuring that data is secure and immutable.

Because edge computing and blockchain are based on the same fundamental concept of a decentralized and distributed network, they can complement each other by working in harmony. Particularly, edge computing often requires advanced GPUsgraphical processing units, which can boost the blockchain proceedings. IoT Internet of Thingsdevices with insufficient resources for blockchain operations can offload these demands to the edge layer, allowing such operations to proceed. The blockchain structure involving edge computing can be seen in this visual representation:

Hospital management system utilizing edge computing
Hospital management system utilizing edge computing

Advantages

The advantages of the collaboration of blockchain and edge computing are numerous, some of which include the following:

  • The utilization of blockchain in edge computing ensures the integrity of data transmitted across layers.

  • Cellphone number operations can indeed be made possible through call routing mechanisms to conduct secure royalty contract transactions for faster results.

  • To alleviate diabetic symptoms, decentralized blockchain databases are employed to store the information acquired from a large number of doctors.

  • IoT device signcryption can assist in simplifying communication.

  • Another use case for blockchain in edge computing is in the Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices are becoming increasingly popular as they allow for the collection and analysis of data from a wide range of sources.

  • Drones' real-time location may be updated using blockchain technology. Because the data on the blockchain that will be utilized is public, other drones will be able to see the whereabouts of other drones.

Blockchain and edge computing collaborations

Providers are also getting into the blockchain-edge computing mix. Hut 8, Solana, and Lumen are examples of such service providers.

Hut 8

Hut 8 is a digital asset pioneer who is optimistic on Bitcoin and Blockchain. It is one of North America's top digital asset miners and one of the first to qualify for a major stock exchange listing. Hut 8 will use the work in progress Web 3.0, which will prove to be a crucial cog in this machine.

Edge relies heavily on decentralization, and blockchain relies heavily on distributed computing, therefore Web 3.0 is a natural match for both.

Web 3.0 will rely significantly on a decentralized structure and edge computing principles to accelerate crucial data for apps and improve traffic shaping.

Solana and Lumen

The vice president of sales at Lumen said that emerging technologies such as blockchain require enhanced network security, performance, and control, which Lumen Edge Computing Solutions provide. According to him, edge computing and blockchain are complementary partner technologies.

Solana has been working with Lumen to bring forward their Edge Bare Metal platform for the blockchain developers at Solana. Due to this, Solana was able to avoid hardware investments, which may have delayed the application development process and the delivery of apps to the market. This design also enables "pay-as-you-go" resource utilization by activating and deactivating bare metal servers as needed.

Another advantage of this collaboration is that it reduces supply chain gaps, which make it difficult for decentralized networks to expand by accessing available resources, leading to the extension and decentralization of the Solana network. This, in turn, leads to improvement in speed and effectiveness of decentralized transitions over the network which can be observed in the latency of the Lumen environment which is only 5 milliseconds or less leading to outstanding performance.

Conclusion

The blockchain technology can be used to improve the accuracy and speed of edge computing. By leveraging blockchain-based algorithms, data can be securely stored and processed on edge devices. This eliminates the need to send data back to a central server for processing, saving time and improving accuracy. Blockchain-based algorithms can also be used to verify data integrity, providing an additional layer of trust and security.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Babik Ayaz
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