research-article

Serverless Edge Computing—Where We Are and What Lies Ahead

Authors:

Schahram DustdarAuthors Info & Claims

IEEE Internet Computing, Volume 27, Issue 3

Pages 50 - 64

https://doi.org/10.1109/MIC.2023.3260939

Published: 01 May 2023 Publication History

Abstract

The edge–cloud continuum combines heterogeneous resources, which are complex to manage. Serverless edge computing is a suitable candidate to manage the continuum by abstracting away the underlying infrastructure, improving developers’ experiences, and optimizing overall resource utilization. However, understanding and overcoming programming support, reliability, and performance engineering challenges are essential for the success of serverless edge computing. In this article, we review and evaluate the maturity of serverless approaches for the edge–cloud continuum. Our review includes commercial, community-driven offerings and approaches from academia. We identify several maturity levels of serverless edge computing and use them as criteria to evaluate the maturity of current state-of-the-art serverless approaches with a special focus on the programming, reliability, and performance challenges. Finally, we lay a road map toward the next generation of serverless edge computing systems.

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cover image IEEE Internet Computing

IEEE Internet Computing Volume 27, Issue 3

May-June 2023

59 pages

ISSN:1089-7801

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1089-7801 © 2023 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See https://www.ieee.org/publications/rights/index.html for more information.

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Published: 01 May 2023

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Cited By

Bhattacharya TPeddi APonaganti SVeeramalla S(2025)A survey on various security protocols of edge computingThe Journal of Supercomputing10.1007/s11227-024-06678-681:1Online publication date: 1-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s11227-024-06678-6
Pfandzelter TBermbach D(2024)Komet: A Serverless Platform for Low-Earth Orbit Edge ServicesProceedings of the 2024 ACM Symposium on Cloud Computing10.1145/3698038.3698517(866-882)Online publication date: 20-Nov-2024
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Calavaro CRusso Russo GSalvati MCardellini VLo Presti FCoppola MKavalionak HFerrucci LKontopoulos I(2024)Towards Energy-Aware Execution and Offloading of Serverless FunctionsProceedings of the 4th Workshop on Flexible Resource and Application Management on the Edge10.1145/3659994.3660313(23-30)Online publication date: 3-Jun-2024
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Filinis NTzanettis ISpatharakis DFotopoulou EDimolitsas IZafeiropoulos AVassilakis CPapavassiliou S(2024)Intent-driven orchestration of serverless applications in the computing continuumFuture Generation Computer Systems10.1016/j.future.2023.12.032154:C(72-86)Online publication date: 1-May-2024
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Nastic S(2024)Self-Provisioning Infrastructures for the Next Generation Serverless ComputingSN Computer Science10.1007/s42979-024-03022-w5:6Online publication date: 26-Jun-2024
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