Towards an Effective Management of IoT by Integrating Cloud and Fog Computing

Cars, environment sensors, or home-deployed appliances can be connected to the Internet or are accessible via the Internet which becomes the Internet of Things (IoT). Implementing an IoT network presents challenges in terms of security and privacy, as well as limitations related to communications and management. Cloud technology is considered as an effective solution for managing IoT systems by moving all complex processes to the cloud and making them accessible to users. Adopting cloud technology can improve the reliability and scalability of IoT systems. However, introducing the cloud paradigm is not a straightforward task. Edge computing was proposed to avoid some of cloud limitations such as latency and security concerns, but it has its own constraints in terms of storage, computing and mobility. This paper discusses the possibility of managing an IoT system by a cloud-edge system. It introduces the cloud and fog computing technologies for addressing IoT limitations. In addition, critical metrics are identified for the purpose of assessing the advantages and difficulties of these technologies. Finally, this paper is proposing a framework able to handle the mentioned limitations, balance the services among the cloud and the edge servers, and boost the overall performance.