Database Shift to the Edge Accelerates

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As edge devices generate ever-larger data quantities, data management specialists are offering new frameworks to reduce reliance on cloud services by embedding intelligence to perform storage and analysis locally.

To that end, the latest release of an embedded database software platform is aimed at Internet of Things (IoT) devices and other autonomous systems. The framework is billed as allowing devices to process sensor data via standard SQL syntax. The platform then preserves key data for offline queries

ITTIA, a database software and services vendor based in Bellevue, Wash., said the updated version of its SQL edge database provides developers with an interface to remotely access and query database tables and IoT sensors. The platform also incorporates a proprietary “security agent” that allows embedded IoT devices to block malicious databases requests.

Meanwhile, data storage and the processing capabilities of embedded systems and IoT devices is automated, the company said Monday (Jan. 25).

The data management framework also seeks to reduce reliance on cloud services, thereby increasing data security and reducing bandwidth expenses. Processing data generated by IoT sensors via the SQL database software would further enable edge device applications to “locally decide” which data to store and analyze in real time, ITTIA claimed.

The embedded SQL database software helps devices monitor data, allowing IoT sensor queries that provide analysis and decision making at the edge. Meanwhile, offline SQL table queries pinpoint data for future analysis. “IoT devices can optimize the data processing to detect inefficiency while managing data offline,” the company said.

ITTIA joins a modest but growing list of database vendors targeting edge deployments as developers recognize they require more than just file systems to support data management. Among the early IoT database entrants is Actian, with its Zen embedded database software.

Other entrants include InfluxData, which offers a cloud-based time-series platform enabling IoT devices to handle real-time data ingestion and streaming analytics.

Along with reducing dependence on cloud services, ITTIA’s latest release is promoted as a tool for embedded IoT developers helping device manufacturers scale edge data management.

“It is not trivial to deploy hundreds of devices that collect, analyze and manage a flood of online data without losing performance,” said ITTIA President Sasan Montaseri.

“While edge application developers may not want to permanently store all real time data, with this new release they are empowered to monitor all available data, capture important information and easily save it for offline queries and further investigation,” Montaseri added.

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