Microsoft Expands Azure IoT Edge Support to Virtual Machines
Microsoft recently announced an expansion to Azure’s Internet of things (IoT) intelligence service, Azure IoT Edge, that introduces virtual machine (VM) support. Azure IoT Edge is a fully-managed cloud intelligence service that monitors IoT devices and responds to critical data in real-time. The updates to Azure IoT Edge allow the service’s runtime to operate on VMs running various operating systems. Microsoft added VM support to provide a wider range of environments for users to deploy their IoT solution.
Azure IoT Edge supports several VM environments, including Windows, Ubuntu, and Debian. In addition, Microsoft partnered with cloud infrastructure provider VMWare to run Azure IoT Edge using VMWare’s vSphere solution. The cooperation between Microsoft and VMWare gives customers a simplified avenue to integrate Azure IoT Edge.
“Azure’s intelligent edge portfolio is designed to run on a breath of hardware to match our customers’ scenarios,” Azure IoT Principal Program Manager Chipalo Street stated in a press release. “This includes everything from microcontroller units (MCUs) running Azure Sphere to a fully consistent experience that is both cloud and edge, powered by Azure Stack. Azure IoT Edge already supports a variety of Linux and Windows operating systems as well as a spectrum of hardware from devices smaller than a Raspberry Pi to servers. Supporting IoT Edge in VMware vSphere offers even more customer choice for those who want to run AI on infrastructure they already own.”
Microsoft introduced Azure IoT Edge in 2017 and made it generally available to enterprise-grade businesses the next year. The service uses AI to gather intelligence and analytics on IoT devices and respond to important real-time data. The runtime for Azure IoT Edge is open-source, but they also offer a cloud interface for secure management of IoT devices. Microsoft designed Azure IoT Edge to work alongside Azure’s other IoT offerings and supports several different coding languages.
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