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Edge Devices

Edges

DIGITbrain applications can run on your own edge devices, and benefit from having compute power closer to the data.

Requirements

For an edge device to be used as a hosting node for your application, components of DIGITbrain will need to access your device to install an run a small software component called (KubeEdge). As such, the device must meet the following requirements:

  • Have an endpoint accessible from the DIGITbrain cloud
  • Have an SSH server open on port 22
  • Have an SSH user with sudo privileges
  • Have a *NIX operating system

For more specific information, such as the DIGITbrain cloud subnet, please contact your support person.

About KubeEdge

KubeEdge is an open-source framework for enabling the scheduling of containerised workloads at the edge, with Kubernetes. The KubeEdge project is under the umbrella of the CNCF as an incubator project, and is so held to the highest standards and best practices in software development. It is well maintained by the open-source community.

KubeEdge extends the cluster of cloud instances that make up the underlying infrastructure for a Process, by joining one or more edge devices to it. Once this cluster is extended, Algorithms can be bound to specific edge devices to bring compute closer to the data.

KubeEdge on your Device

Joining an edge device to a Process's cluster can only occur once a Process is started. When a Process is started, one MiCADO cloud instance is dynamically provisoned to begin creating the cluster. This MiCADO instance will connect to any identified edge devices to join them to the cluster. The workflow steps are as follows:

  • SSH to install KubeEdge at edge (if not already installed)
  • SSH to execute KubeEdge join command
  • pointing at endpoint of MiCADO
  • with a token generated by MiCADO

Because these steps require root access, we require an SSH user with sudo privileges. Once the above steps are complete, we no longer require port 22 to be open. Because joining the edge device requires dynamic parameters (endpoint of MiCADO and MiCADO-generated token), it is not practical to complete these steps manually.

Metadata Description

The metadata specification for edges is here.