Delivering data from intelligent devices at the edge of computing networks involves a delicate dance between gateways that aggregate information and the infrastructure to bring data and enterprise sources together. The ballet is getting more complicated as computing applications and data services get pushed farther from centralized processor nodes to the outer edges of a network.

Kontron, which specializes in “internet of things”-embedded computing technology, recently added OpenStack cloud computing software and Kubernetes container orchestration management system iterations to its open-source edge SymKloud platform as part of a distribution agreement with Canonical Ltd. The move provides more options for edge computing users.

“Ultimately, it’s all going to be about density, power efficiency, and making sure your time to production within the environment is as short as possible,” said Eric Sarault (pictured, right), product manager of software and services at Kontron S&T AG. “We really need to make sure we’re able to cater to that.”

Sarault spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, and guest host John Troyer (@jtroyer), chief reckoner at TechReckoning, at OpenStack Summit in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was joined by Arturo Suarez (pictured, left), product strategy, alliances and program director at Canonical, and they discussed the challenges of edge device solutions and key Linux Foundation projects. (* Disclosure below.)

Condensed solutions in small spaces

The announcement this month was aimed at delivering new solutions to address the challenge of smaller IoT devices that demand economies of scale. “That ability to condense in OpenStack, the ability to deliver Kubernetes within that little space is pretty unique,” Suarez said. “While we’re still figuring out what technology goes on the edge, we still need to account for the economics of that edge.”

Additional projects underway through the Linux Foundation are capturing Kontron’s interest as well. The Open Network Automation Platform is focused on automating the delivery of edge services to the network core. And Akraino, a project generated from code donated by AT&T, is directed at the scaling of edge cloud services.

“Other projects upcoming like ONAP and Akraino are going to be very interesting for the next 24 months to see what it’s going to shape into,” Sarault said. “This is going to really unlock the capabilities that are out there to deploy the [edge] solution.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of OpenStack Summit. (* Disclosure: Kontron S&T AG sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Kontron nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE