Envisioning Internet of Things using Fog computing

Abstract

Internet of Things is the future of the Internet. It encircles a wide scope. There are currently billions of devices connected to the Internet and this trend is expecting to grow exponentially. Cisco predicts there are at present 20 billion connected devices. These devices, along with their varied data types, transmission rates and communication protocols connect to the Internet seamlessly. The futuristic implementation of Internet of Things across various scenarios demands the real time performance delivery. These range from RFID connected devices to huge data centers. Until date, there is no single communication protocol available for envisioning IoT. There is still no common, agreed upon architecture. Hence, huge challenges lie ahead. One of the ways to envision Internet of Things is to make use of Fog Networks. Fog is essentially a cloudlet, located nearer to the ground. It offers lower latency and better bandwidth conservation. The Fog or Fog computing is a recent concept. The OpenFog Consortium is a joint effort of many vendors. Its latest work is the background study for realizing Fog as a possible paltform for activating Internet of Things. This paper revolves around Envisioning Internet of Things using Fog computing. It begins with a detailed background study of Internet of Things and Fog Architecture. It covers applications and scenarios where such knowledge is highly applicable. The paper concludes by proposing Fog Computing as a possible platform for Internet of Things.