The report , Edge Archetypes 2.0 : Deployment-Ready Edge Infrastructure Models , builds on the Edge archetypes research and taxonomy Vertiv introduced to the industry in 2018 .

The new research further categorises Edge sites based on factors including location and external environment , number of racks , power requirements and availability , site tenancy , passive infrastructure , Edge infrastructure provider and number of sites to be deployed .

• Distributed Edge Data Centre : This could be within an on-premise data centre ( either a pre-existing enterprise data centre or network room or a new standalone facility ). It also could be a small , distributed data centre or colocation facility located on the telco network or at a regional site . Distributed Edge Data centres are currently common in manufacturing , telecommunications , healthcare and Smart City applications .

• Regional Edge Data Centre : A data centre facility located outside core data centre hubs . As this is typically a facility that is purpose-built to host compute infrastructure , it shares many features of hyperscale data centres e . g . is conditioned and controlled , has high security and high reliability . This model is common for retail applications and serves as an intermediary data processing site .

The introduction of Edge archetypes three years ago advanced the understanding of the Edge . It was the first formal attempt – using information gathered across the industry – to group Edge applications in a way that would help organisations avoid reinventing the wheel with every Edge deployment .

Since then , other organisations and industry bodies have been working in parallel – and often with Vertiv as a collaborator – to create standard processes and technologies to advance the understanding and effectiveness of the Edge . These latest Edge infrastructure models represent the logical next step .

“ As the Edge matures and Edge sites proliferate and become more sophisticated , creating Edge infrastructure models is a necessary step toward standardised equipment and design that can increase efficiency and reduce costs and deployment timelines ,” said Martin Olsen , Global Vice President , Edge Strategy and Transformation for Vertiv .

“ Edge sites will continue to require some customisation to meet users ’ specific needs , but these models streamline many fundamental choices and introduce some much-needed repeatability into Edge environments . This research is especially useful for specifiers , such as channel partners and IT management professionals .” ◊ intelligent INFRASTRUCTURE

• Device Edge : The compute is at the end-device itself , either built into the device or in a standalone form that is directly attached to the device , such as AR / VR devices or smart traffic lights .

• Micro Edge : A small , standalone solution that can range in size from one or two servers up to four racks . It can be deployed at the enterprise ’ s own site , or could be deployed at a telco site , with common cases including real-time inventory management and network closets in educational facilities .

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