LF Edge, an umbrella organization within the Linux Foundation that aims to establish an open, interoperable framework for edge computing independent of hardware, silicon, cloud, or operating system, today announced the availability of Akraino Release 3 ("Akraino R3").  Akraino's third and most mature release to date delivers fully functional edge solutions- implemented across global organizations- to enable a diversity of edge deployments across the globe. New blueprints include a focus on  MEC, AI/ML, and Cloud edge. In addition, the community authored the first iteration of a new white paper to bring common open edge API standards to align the industry.

Launched in 2018, and now a Stage 3 (or "Impact" stage) project under the LF Edge umbrella, Akraino Edge Stack delivers an open source software stack that supports a high-availability cloud stack optimized for edge computing systems and applications. Designed to improve the state of carrier edge networks, edge cloud infrastructure for enterprise edge, and over-the-top (OTT) edge, it enables flexibility to scale edge cloud services quickly, maximize applications and functions supported at the edge, and to improve the reliability of systems that must be up at all times. 

"Akraino has evolved to unify edge blueprints across use cases," said Arpit Joshipura, general manager, Networking, Automation, Edge and IoT, the Linux Foundation. "With a growing set of blueprints that enable more and more use cases, we are seeing the power of open source impact every aspect of the edge and how the world accesses and consumes information."  

Akraino R3

Akraino Release 3 (R3) delivers a fully functional open source edge stack that enables a diversity of edge platforms across the globe. With R3, Akraino brings deployments and PoCs from a swath of global organizations including Aarna Networks, China Mobile, Equinix, Futurewei, Huawei, Intel, Juniper, Nokia, NVIDIA, Tencent, WeBank, WiPro, and more.

Akraino enables innovative support for new levels of flexibility that scale 5G, industrial IoT, telco, and enterprise edge cloud services quickly, by delivering community-vetted and tested edge cloud blueprints to deploy edge services.  New use cases and new and existing blueprints provide an edge stack for Connected Vehicle, AR/VR, AI at the Edge, Android Cloud Native, SmartNICs, Telco Core and Open-RAN, NFV, IOT, SD-WAN, SDN, MEC, and more. 

Akraino R3 includes  6 new blueprints for a total of 20,  all tested and validated on real hardware labs supported by users and community members - the Akraino community has established a full-stack, automated testing with strict community standards to ensure high-quality blueprints. 

The 20 "ready and proven" blueprints include both updates and long-term support to existing R1 & R2 blueprints, and the introduction of six new blueprints:

• The AI Edge - School/Education Video Security Monitoring
  
• 5G MEC/Slice System-  Supports Cloud Gaming, HD Video, and Live Broadcasting
• Enterprise Applications on Lightweight 5G Telco Edge (EATLEdge)
• Micro-MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) for SmartCity Use Cases
• IEC Type 3: Android Cloud Native Applications on Arm-based  Servers on the Edge 
• IEC Type 5: Smart NIC: Edge hardware acceleration
  

More information on Akraino R3, including links to documentation, code, installation docs for all Akraino Blueprints from R1-R3, can be found here.

Looking Ahead

The community is already planning R4, which will include more implementation of open edge API guidelines, more automation of testing, increased alliance with upstream and downstream communities, and development of public cloud standard edge interfaces. Additionally, the community is expecting new blueprints as well as additional enhancements to existing blueprints.