The concept of cloud computing or cloud computing has already become common. It refers to the use of remote servers connected to the Network, so that computing services can be offered through several Internet points instead of centralizing them in a single machine.
When drawing network diagrams, these types of connections are usually represented within a cloud to indicate physical distance or a non-direct connection, and that image has ended up being imposed to create the expression.
Fog computing takes some of these elements, but applies them to a local processing environment , and not to the cloud. As we use more and more smart objects, they will collect data from our activities that will be uploaded to the Internet and we can use it to our benefit.
It is what is called the internet of things, and it is already very present in our lives: according to the Gartner consultancy, there are already more than 5 billion objects that connect to the web.
Today, many of these smart devices communicate with a central server in the cloud, but in the future they will be able to talk locally to each other to coordinate or interpret the data collected. That is the “fog”.
Rather than relying on a central server, these products will be able to collaborate to store information without the need for a network connection, which will decrease response time and increase reliability for the user. The smart home lock, for example, will be able to give the light bulbs the signal to turn on when you enter, without having to go through a server that controls everything.
Standards for these types of scenarios are still under development, but major consumer electronics companies and network equipment providers are already beginning to explore the possibilities of this new paradigm.
