Interoperability Frameworks for Seamless Integration of Cloud, Edge, and Fog Computing in Next Generation Digital Ecosystems
Keywords:
Cloud Computing, Fog Computing, Edge Devices, Interoperability, Middleware, Orchestration, Digital EcosystemsAbstract
The digital transformation driven by Industry 4.0, smart cities, and autonomous systems has shifted computational demand from centralized cloud platforms to decentralized edge and fog infrastructures. These paradigms offer distinct advantages but face substantial challenges in seamless integration. Interoperability across heterogeneous computing environments—cloud, fog, and edge—is crucial to achieving agility, responsiveness, and scalability in next-generation digital ecosystems.
This paper investigates existing interoperability frameworks, analyzing their architectural structures, strengths, and limitations. Through the exploration of scholarly sources and visual data representation, we identify core issues such as semantic inconsistency, container orchestration conflicts, and fragmented resource management protocols. A reference model is proposed to unify these environments through semantic gateways, orchestrators, and API-driven services. The findings pave the way for future research and development of adaptive and intelligent middleware solutions
References
Mahmud, R., Koch, F. L., & Buyya, R. (2018). Cloud–Fog Interoperability in IoT-enabled Healthcare Solutions. Proceedings of the ACM ICDCS.
Ferrández-Pastor, F. J., Mora, H., Jimeno-Morenilla, A. (2018). Deployment of IoT edge and fog computing technologies to develop smart building services. Sustainability, 10(11), 3832.
Li, J., Jin, J., Yuan, D., Zhang, H. (2017). Virtual Fog: A Virtualization Enabled Fog Computing Framework for IoT. IEEE Internet of Things Journal.
Buyya, R., & Srirama, S. N. (2019). Fog and Edge Computing: Principles and Paradigms. Wiley.
Mijuskovic, A., Chiumento, A., Bemthuis, R., Aldea, A. (2021). Resource management techniques for cloud/fog and edge computing. Sensors, 21(5), 1832.
Su, Z., Biennier, F., Lv, Z., Peng, Y. (2017). Toward architectural trustworthiness in Cloud/Fog systems. IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing.
Rahman, H., & Hussain, M. I. (2019). Fog‐based semantic model for supporting interoperability in IoT. IET Communications.
Rampérez, V., Soriano, J., et al. (2018). A multidomain standards‐based fog computing architecture for smart cities. Wireless and Mobile Computing.
Angel, N. A., Vincent, P. M. D. R., Srinivasan, K. (2021). Recent Advances in Cloud, Edge, and Fog Technologies. Sensors, 22(1), 196.
Ma, X., Jiang, H., Wang, F. (2019). MiFo: A novel edge network integration framework for fog computing. Peer-to-peer Networking and Applications.
Escamilla-Ambrosio, P. J., Rodríguez-Mota, A. (2017). Distributed Computing in the IoT: Cloud, Edge, and Fog Overview. Springer NEO.
Sigwele, T., Hu, Y. F., Ali, M., Hou, J. (2018). Semantic Gateway for Healthcare Interoperability. IEEE IoT and Cloud Computing.
Raj, P., Saini, K., Surianarayanan, C. (2022). Edge/Fog Computing Paradigm. Springer.
Chundrigar, S. B., Rapone, D., Quasso, R. (2018). Integrated Fog Systems with Multi-RAT. IEEE International Conference on Cloud Networking.
Puliafito, C., Mingozzi, E., Longo, F., Puliafito, A. (2019). Fog Computing for the Internet of Things: A Survey. ACM Transactions on Internet Technology.
