Edge purpose and definition

While computing platforms running outside of IT-managed corporate environments and data centers are not new, edge systems today are extensions of general IT-managed components as though they were within the control and security of a corporate data center. Edge systems are essentially remote computing systems and borrow elements from established engineering domains of embedded systems, cloud computing, computer security, and telecommunications.

One of the earliest forms of remote managed computing existed long before cloud systems and general computing. In the 1930s and 1940s, energy generation was rapidly expanding across the United States as hydro projects and the electric grid were forming. To manage the wide expanse of electric switching stations, a system of remote control was established using pilot wires. We can think of pilot wires as being sideband control signals outside of the high-power lines and attached to an emergency...