Opportunistic Edge Computing: Concepts, Opportunities and Research Challenges

TL;DR

Opportunistic Edge Computing (OEC) leverages end-user contributed resources to create scalable, low-latency edge infrastructures, addressing scalability and cost issues of traditional edge computing models.

Contribution

This paper introduces the OEC paradigm, defining its stakeholders, management framework, and contrasting it with existing models, supported by preliminary experimental results.

Findings

OEC can reduce costs compared to traditional edge deployments.

Preliminary results show OEC offers lower latency and higher scalability.

Limitations include resource heterogeneity and management complexity.

Abstract

The growing need for low-latency access to computing resources has motivated the introduction of edge computing, where resources are strategically placed at the access networks. Unfortunately, edge computing infrastructures like fogs and cloudlets have limited scalability and may be prohibitively expensive to install given the vast edge of the Internet. In this paper, we present Opportunistic Edge Computing (OEC), a new computing paradigm that provides a framework to create scalable infrastructures at the edge using end-user contributed resources. One of the goals of OEC is to place resources where there is high demand for them by incentivizing people to share their resources. This paper defines the OEC paradigm and the involved stakeholders and puts forward a management framework to build, manage and monitor scalable edge infrastructures. It also highlights the key differences between the OEC computing models and the existing computing models and shed the light on early works on the topic. The paper also presents preliminary experimental results that highlight the benefits and the limitations of OEC compared to the regular cloud computing deployment and the Fog deployment. It finally summarizes key research directions pertaining to resource management in OEC environments.