Difference Between Cloud Computing and Fog Computing | CS THEORY SERIES

 

Difference Between Cloud Computing and Fog Computing

Cloud Computing: The delivery of on-demand computing services is known as cloud computing. We can use applications to storage and processing power over the internet. It is a pay as you go service. Without owning any computing infrastructure or any data centers, anyone can rent access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider.

We can avoid the complexity of owning and maintaining infrastructure by using cloud computing services and pay for what we use.

In turn, cloud computing services providers can benefit from significant economies of scale by delivering the same services to a wide range of customers.

Fog Computing: Fog computing is a decentralized computing infrastructure or process in which computing resources are located between the data source and the cloud or any other data center. Fog computing is a paradigm that provides services to user requests at the edge networks. The devices at the fog layer usually perform operations related to networking such as routers, gateways, bridges, and hubs. Researchers envision these devices to be capable of performing both computational and networking operations, simultaneously. Although these devices are resource-constrained compared to the cloud servers, the geological spread and the decentralized nature help in offering reliable services with coverage over a wide area. Fog computing is the physical location of the devices, which are much closer to the users than the cloud servers.

 

Below is a table of differences between Cloud Computing and Fog Computing:

Feature	Cloud Computing	Cloud Computing
Latency	Cloud computing has high latency compared to fog computing	Fog computing has low latency
Capacity	Cloud Computing does not provide any reduction in data while sending or transforming data	Fog Computing reduces the amount of data sent to cloud computing.
Responsiveness	Response time of the system is low	Response time of the system is high.
Security	Cloud computing has less security compared to Fog Computing	Fog computing has high Security.
Speed	Access speed is high depending on the VM connectivity	High even more compared to Cloud Computing.
Data Integration	Multiple data sources can be integrated.	Multiple Data sources and devices can be integrated.
Mobility	In cloud computing mobility is Limited	Mobility is supported in fog computing
Location Awareness	Partially Supported in Cloud computing.	Supported in fog computing.
Number of Server Nodes	Cloud computing has Few number of server nodes.	Fog computing has Large number of server nodes.
Geographical Distribution	It is centralized.	It is decentralized and distributed
Location of service	Services provided within the internet.	Services provided at the edge of the local network
Working environment	Specific data center building with air conditioning systems	Outdoor (streets,base stations, etc.) or indoor (houses, cafes, etc.)
Communication mode	IP network	Wireless communication: WLAN, WiFi, 3G, 4G, ZigBee, etc. or wired communication (part of the IP networks)
Dependence on the quality of core network	Requires strong network core.	Can also work in Weak network core.