A Comprehensive Survey on Resource Allocation Strategies in Fog/Cloud Environments

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Networking
• Distributed Systems

Background:

• The proliferation of connected devices drives demand for advanced applications.
• Cloud and fog computing face resource allocation challenges due to network dynamics and device heterogeneity.
• Efficient resource management is vital for performance in the fog-cloud continuum.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing literature on resource allocation in the fog-cloud continuum.
• To analyze different strategies and network characteristics influencing resource allocation.
• To identify open research challenges and future directions in edge computing resource management.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of resource allocation approaches in fog-cloud environments.
• Analysis of factors impacting resource allocation decisions (e.g., energy, latency, cost).
• Synthesis of current research trends and identification of research gaps.

Main Results:

• Overview of various resource allocation strategies tailored for fog-cloud architectures.
• Discussion on trade-offs between different allocation objectives like latency, energy, and cost.
• Identification of key challenges in managing heterogeneous and dynamic edge resources.

Conclusions:

• Resource allocation is a critical research area in edge and fog computing.
• Further research is needed to address dynamic resource management in heterogeneous environments.
• This survey provides a foundation for researchers and practitioners in fog-cloud resource optimization.