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Microsoft Ships and Open Sources Azure IoT Edge
Microsoft this week shipped Azure IoT Edge -- its cloud-based solution for bringing local intelligence to distributed Internet of Things devices -- while making it open source.
Azure IoT Edge is a fully managed cloud service that brings custom logic and intelligence to edge devices through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and various cloud services (including machine learning, stream analytics, SQL Server databases and more), enabling them to operate independently even when offline.
"Now devices can act immediately on real-time data -- whether it be recognizing a crack in a pipe from an aerial view or predicting equipment failure before it happens," the company said in a blog post yesterday (June 27). "As we evolve toward a world of ubiquitous computing, the design of the IoT solution spanning hardware, edge and cloud must be consistent and secure to drive real impact."
After a one-year preview period, the company is also infusing more capabilities into the solution as it goes to general availability. These include support for the Moby container management system, a ready-to-go ecosystem of certified edge hardware/software and security enhancements.
Those new features were added to previous functionality announced at the Microsoft's recent //Build developer conference, where the company unveiled integration with Microsoft AI services, support for Kubernetes container orchestration, new partnerships, and third-party hardware integrations including DJI drones and the Qualcomm vision AI developer kit.
By parking the source code on GitHub, Microsoft said it's giving developers more flexibility and control over edge solutions -- such as letting them modify the runtime and debug problems -- while continuing the company's commitment to the open source movement.
First-party pricing details are available here.
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer for Converge360.