10GbE: Network Acceleration from the Rugged Edge

Data informs virtually every facet of industry, governance and society.  It is increasingly leveraged to yield invaluable insights that aid humans and autonomous systems make precise, intelligent decisions.  The faster the data is received and processed, the more appropriate a response can be provided.

So heavy is this reliance on data that, according to an IDC white paper, world data growth is projected to quintuple to 175 ZB by 2025.  More than half of this data is expected to be generated from 150 billion devices deployed at the network edge, local to the people and systems depending on it. 

This explosion in data generation is enabled through improvements in IoT technologies.  High input/output per second (IOPS) NVMe storage efficiently streamlines read/write speeds.  5G and Wi-Fi 6 supply low-latency wireless connectivity to mobile edge devices.  USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports send and receive data from peripheral devices at 10 Gbps.  With these IoT accelerators in place, a wired network connection with insufficient throughput can become a crippling data bottleneck that hamstrings system responsiveness.  To maintain overall system throughput, a far faster networking technology needs to be implemented.  Enter 10GbE.

Networks leveraging 10GbE transmit Ethernet frames at 10 gigabits per second — tenfold the speed of more common GbE connections.  10GbE maintains pace with performance advancements in IoT technology to better supports applications leveraging high-speed storage and I/O.  Existing Cat 5e, Cat-6, Cat 6a or dedicated Cat-7 cables support 10GbE transmissions (depending on distance and needed bandwidth), avoiding the need for rewiring.  The relative simplicity and speed of 10GbE lets edge computers instantly offload floods of rapidly acquired and processed data onto the enterprise network, providing operators and automated network systems to real-time insights to arrive at proper decisions.

10GbE: Upholding Immediacy at the Rugged Edge

Fueling the explosive growth of data are heavier dependence on bulky high-resolution, high-frame-rate video and oceans of disparate data aggregated to carry out automated processes.  Devices transacting and computing this hefty data are increasingly deployed to what is termed the “rugged edge.”  Rugged edge deployments generally entail physical or logistical challenges, demanding purpose-built hardware to ensure performance despite adverse circumstances.

Devices at the rugged edge accomplish the same localized processing and applications as traditional edge hardware.  By processing data at the edges of the network, the devices provide real-time compute responsiveness for the operators and adjoining devices relying on it.  The localized solution delivers greater mission-critical accuracy for decision-making and reduces the network consumption required to transmit all data back and forth between a sole central processing system.

Despite the reduced reliance on network resources, 10GbE ensures far greater immediacy for those data-heavy applications reliant on speedy transmissions with other systems.  Video surveillance, geospatial imaging, medical imaging, autonomous systems and myriad other applications supported by data intensive high-resolution optical data need an unimpeded network to relay mission-critical imagery and footage.  Automated edge functions can lean heavily on network resources for applications drawing from or offloading to centralized databases. 

With the ongoing growth in data showing no signs of stopping, 10GbE ensures data intensive edge computing in remote, mobile and treacherous environments can be transmitted at speeds keeping pace with other technological improvements.  Network connectivity need not be the standout bottleneck in an IoT edge deployment designed for immediacy.

Premio CFL-R Class Refreshes Rugged Edge Networks

Premio’s Coffee Lake Refresh Class of rugged edge devices are configurable with dual 10GbE ports through the daughterboard.  Intel’s 8th and 9th generation Core processors provide compute power and versatility to support enhanced IoT technologies like 10GbE. 

The rapid network speeds complement a wealth of 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports.  The Coffee Lake Refresh Class also support faster wireless technologies for a low-latency network to cloud solution.

Dedicated features fortify rugged edge computers dispatched to severe physical environments.  Fanless architecture removes a prominent failure point for edge compute hardware.  Wide operating temperature, and shock and vibration tolerance protect the rugged edge computer under extremely volatile conditions.

By connecting the rugged edge computers via rapid 10GbE ports, the Coffee Lake Refresh Class devices promise more holistic immediacy to real-time applications.  Informed insights and optimization data can be shared with other connected systems for a more streamlined IoT enterprise.