On Tuesday, the Eclipse ioFog project team announced the release of Eclipse ioFog 2.0, and I invite everyone to join me in congratulating them and the Eclipse Edge Native Working Group for the achievement. Thanks to the community’s efforts, the release delivers new EdgeOps functionality that makes it faster and easier to develop production-grade edge applications and manage edge AI deployments.
The ioFog platform brings cloud native architectures such as Kubernetes to the edge, allowing developers to deploy, orchestrate, and manage microservices on any edge device. It’s unique in the industry because it abstracts the complexities of networking from the edge applications.
The Eclipse ioFog platform is already widely used and proven in the field. Organizations ranging from major service providers to FORTUNE 500 companies all rely on the software in production environments today. The ioFog platform has even been used as the backbone of an edge AI application that monitors children’s temperatures and use of masks in schools to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. It’s a great example of the value and potential the ioFog platform delivers.
EdgeOps Targets Edge Computing Challenges
The new EdgeOps capabilities in Eclipse ioFog 2.0 take that value and potential to the next level.
EdgeOps technologies and tools are built from the ground up to address the unique challenges that arise when developing edge computing applications. They’re needed because traditional DevOps technologies and tools are not well-suited to edge computing. The EdgeOps concept was defined by the Eclipse Edge Native Working Group, and the Eclipse ioFog platform is a key enabling technology.
Here’s a brief look at what the new EdgeOps features in Eclipse ioFog 2.0 mean for developers.
Red Hat’s Skupper Project Simplifies Application Connections
The Eclipse ioFog architecture is based on the concept of an Edge Compute Network (ECN) that’s comprised of a Controller, Agents (more on this later), and a Service Mesh.
In Eclipse ioFog 2.0, the Service Mesh component was replaced with Red Hat’s Skupper project.
Skupper uses the Apache Qpid Dispatch Router for application connectivity between data centers and any type of edge with no need for virtual private networks (VPNs) or special firewall rules. As a result, developers can now set up application connections using a simple yaml configuration file.
New Features Enable More Fluid EdgeOps
Eclipse ioFog 2.0 also includes new features that give developers more flexible and adaptable EdgeOps capabilities.
For example, developers can now add, remove, and move ioFog Agents between ECNs at runtime. Agents are lightweight, universal container runtimes that are installed on edge devices to manage the life cycle of microservices, data volumes, edge resources, and other assets. With Eclipse ioFog 2.0, developers have new agility to take advantage of live orchestration, and to migrate and drain microservices and applications.
Developers also have new abilities to:
· Prune images based on policies
· Manage multiple image registries
· Mount data volumes in microservices containers
Together, these features showcase the Edge Native community’s ability to deliver the production-ready features edge application developers need to support real-world use cases.
Learn More and Get Started With Eclipse ioFog 2.0
Be sure to check out the following for additional insight:
· For more information on the contents of the Eclipse ioFog 2.0 release, click here.
· To learn more about EdgeOps, read our recent newsletter article and new white paper.
· To learn more about the Eclipse Edge Native Working Group, review the working group charter and participation agreement, and visit the website.
