Resource Management in Fog/Edge Computing: A Survey

TL;DR

This survey reviews the evolution, architectures, and algorithms for resource management in fog and edge computing, emphasizing the challenges posed by decentralized, heterogeneous, and dynamic resources at the network edge.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive classification and analysis of existing research on resource management strategies in fog/edge computing from 1991 to 2018.

Findings

Most publications (85%) are from 2013-2018.

Identifies key architectures and algorithms for resource management.

Highlights challenges due to resource heterogeneity and dynamism.

Abstract

Contrary to using distant and centralized cloud data center resources, employing decentralized resources at the edge of a network for processing data closer to user devices, such as smartphones and tablets, is an upcoming computing paradigm, referred to as fog/edge computing. Fog/edge resources are typically resource-constrained, heterogeneous, and dynamic compared to the cloud, thereby making resource management an important challenge that needs to be addressed. This article reviews publications as early as 1991, with 85% of the publications between 2013-2018, to identify and classify the architectures, infrastructure, and underlying algorithms for managing resources in fog/edge computing.