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Connectivity means assessing existing network topology, for example, wired Ethernet, wireless, switches, routers, VPN, segmentations, 5G, and RAN. The process of connecting heterogenous data sources, compute and storage devices, and end endpoint devices within a facility are also assessed.
The following figure outlines the five connectivity assessment criteria.
Performance refers to the quality of response time as perceived by the functional edge and edge computing environments. It is typically measured for ability of bandwidth and latency requirements to meet facility needs.
Availability refers to understanding current constraints of a network to meet uptime requirements for a facility. It is assessed to mitigate production disruptions and prevent delays in schedule or expected throughput.
Reliability focuses on understanding how well an existing topology meets the needs of a facility regarding network performance and availability. Typical measures include understanding of current failure rates and the time that it requires to recover after responding to a facility requirement.
Robustness refers to assessing the current network functioning in case of one or more node failures and its impact on other active nodes. A node is any physical connection point within the network topology.
Robustness is assessed by performing vulnerability analysis to understand to what extent a network can deliver an anticipated level of performance and still maintain its efficiency when faced with node failures.
Manageability refers to assessing current people, processes, and technological capabilities within a facility for administering, monitoring, and managing network resources. Assessment includes currently deployed distributed and hierarchical architectures that span across a facility or multiple facilities within a region. It helps to create an understanding of current constraints, limitations, and future requirements to deploy edge computing at a facility.