Читать книгу Understanding Infrastructure Edge Computing - Alex Marcham - Страница 37

Although the internet may appear to be one single amorphous entity, this is not the case at all. The internet is a network of networks – a complex system of protocols, physical infrastructure, and many layers of agreements between network operators to work together for the mutual benefit of each party involved. A thorough analysis of every aspect of the structure of the internet is outside of the scope of this book, but a progression through the major stages of the parts of internet infrastructure which are most relevant to infrastructure edge computing and its main driving factors is warranted.

Although many of the major stages in the evolution of the internet have been described briefly in the previous chapter, the following sections will describe the implications of these changes for the design of the networks which, joined together, make up the internet as we know it in greater detail.

During this chapter, the term network endpoint, or endpoint, will be introduced. It refers to any entity on the network that is capable of sending and receiving data which is transmitted using the network. It is a generic term that encompasses any scale, capability, or role that an endpoint may have, from the tiniest embedded sensor for internet of things (IoT) to a room‐sized supercomputer, as long as that entity can perform those functions, regardless of the speed at which it does so or its other uses.