Introduction

I.1. The Edge

The Internet of Edges, the subtitle of this book, is the formulation in simple terms of a new generation of networks: an infrastructure of communications and services that is realized at the edge of the network. The Internet of Edges is an interconnection of Edge networks. There are three levels of Edge networks: Skin networks, Fog networks and Mobile/Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) networks. Skin networks connect clients to each other on the far edge, and the network nodes that support services are within a few meters of the users. Fog networks are more for company use. In a sense, they are replacing local area networks. However, their structure is a little different since the objective is to connect the company's employees to a small data center located within the company. MEC networks originate from the Edge networks of telecommunications operators. These are the networks using 5G and connecting customers to an operator's data center located very close to a 5G antenna. We have represented an Internet of Edges in Figure I.1.

Skin, Fog and MEC networks can themselves be participatory networks or not. A participatory network is built by interconnecting the electronic machines of its participants, which can be a user's terminal, a nearby box, a drone, a robot or a vehicle, etc. Participatory networks are distinguished from other types of networks by their totally distributed aspect. A non-participatory network is a network where services are centralized in a cloud, usually far away, to which customers must connect to obtain a service. In participatory networks, all services are distributed, whether they are infrastructure services or application services. The distance between the user and the data center hosting the service is comparable to the range of Wi-Fi communication. The machines that participate in the network bring their resources and host services that will be available to all users of the network.

Figure I.1. An Internet of Edges.

The participatory Internet is a participatory network using a fully distributed Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) environment. It is a new paradigm that brings together autonomous direct communications between mobile nodes and the concept of Edge Computing. The user of the participatory Internet is no longer a consumer of the environment's resources but, on the contrary, participates in the realization and life of the digital infrastructure of this new Internet concept. The network is alive; it forms and deforms itself according to its participants. It replaces the classic Internet while using the same protocols in a distributed way and more or less powerful Edge data centers. IP compatibility allows it to connect or disconnect from the Internet without altering its operation. Of course, disconnection can stop some services that require centralized Internet servers. On the other hand, the participatory Internet allows mobility, independence, autonomy, instant deployment and strong security. The participatory Internet is perfectly applicable to companies to manage their information system and their applications while bringing increased security to their IT environment. The participatory Internet is very well suited to telecom operators by allowing immediate extensions of their network. This new concept is also very interesting for integrators by facilitating the introduction of mobile digital infrastructure to customers who need it. The architecture related to the participatory Internet is designed to realize a new world of mobility. It adapts to vehicular networks and is expected to become the standard for the mobile Internet that is bound to emerge with connected vehicles. Many forecasts show that drivers will switch from driving to connecting to the Internet as soon as the vehicle becomes autonomous. As a result, the amount of data flowing through the Internet from mobile devices could reach almost the same value as that from fixed customers. The participatory Internet is also suitable for robot networks, drone networks and all networks in which humans, machines, or objects are in motion. It is particularly suitable for tactical cells and smart spaces. This new paradigm of the participatory Internet is associated with ad hoc and mesh technologies in hybrid mode and with data and application processing at the Edge. It is an integral part of the digitization of enterprises and will be integrated into Edge environments that have two other components: the MEC and Fog. These two other components are characterized by more powerful and totally fixed data centers.

The new Internet of Edges generation with participatory networks can be referred to as the uberization of telecommunications since it allows the creation of a network using only machines belonging to users, whether they are the general public or companies. However, this architecture based on participatory networks can also be implemented by telecommunications operators through their users with their smartphones or their Internet box. An Internet of Edges network based on participatory networks can be created using machines that integrate the TCP/IP protocol stack and hosting servers to provide services to clients connected to this network. The machines can be large servers, small computers, or even smartphones. Any electronic device with a processor, memory and network interface is suitable to participate in the creation of a participative network. This network can be interconnected to other networks with gateways to globalize it. The interconnection can be made with other participatory networks but also with more classical Internet networks. In the latter case, a user can go and look for centralized services on the Internet.

Currently, the global Internet works well and satisfies many needs, but it also consumes many resources because of the distance of users from the data centers that have the functions and data needed to provide the services requested. To send a message to its neighbor, the message must travel long distances to reach the server and return to the sender's neighborhood. This also leads to the creation of huge and energy-consuming data centers that are difficult to control and secure. The idea of deglobalizing the Internet makes it possible to use nearby resources to provide a service, like Airbnb or Uber, where anyone with a resource (house, car, etc.) can offer it to enrich the accommodation or transportation offer.

In the rest of this book, we will take an in-depth look at the Internet of Edges but also the reasons for its introduction to easily achieve the digitization of businesses and the industrial world. We will also examine the other two components of Edge Computing, the MEC and the Fog, and their cooperation with the level closest to the user, the Skin level, with a particular interest in participatory networks.

I.2. The digitization of companies

The digitalization of business and industry is the main reason for the extension of digital infrastructures, especially at the edge, whether it be through MECs, Fog data centers, or the participatory Internet, which is located at the level closest to the user.

We have represented in Figure I.2 the different elements of this digitization from networks to applications.

At the digital network level, we find the three main components based on virtualization: Software-defined networking/Network functions virtualization (SDN/NFV), 5G and Cloud-Native technologies. The participatory Internet is also part of digital networks and can use virtualization techniques and be associated with 5G. It can also use the solutions provided by Cloud Native.

Figure I.2. The digitization of companies.

Digital operations are increasingly in demand for automation to enable cost reduction by having autonomous networks that can automatically handle the configuration, control and management of the digital infrastructure. Open Source represents the second way to lower the costs of infrastructure. It is necessary to move towards open application interfaces so that network and application modules can be easily interconnected, with the possibility of marketing more efficient proprietary modules that could replace the open-source modules. At the top level of the digital experience, there are real-time applications and generic applications that enable easy implementation of services, optimizations and reliability. Finally, at the highest level, the digital services that can be expected from the entire infrastructure such as high-definition video, applications that bring the virtual such as augmented reality, intelligent applications for the city, building or home, autonomous vehicles, tactile services such as remote surgery and finally the Internet of Industrial Things to realize applications of Industry 4.0.

Overall, three levels are defined in the new IT environments: the digital infrastructure, the platforms and, at the highest level, the services. Figure I.3 describes the IT environment of companies and the industrial world.

Figure I.3. The IT environment of an enterprise

At the level of digital infrastructure, there are two sub-levels: the technical infrastructure composed of hardware, mainly data centers of various sizes, antennas and cables, whether fiber optic or wire cables. The second sub-layer corresponds to the digital software infrastructure, which gathers all the functions of the infrastructure, such as routing, switching, firewall, signal processing, etc.

The layer above forms the platform on which the applications run....