Edge systems promise to bring data and computing closer to the users of time-critical applications. Specifically, edge storage systems are emerging as a new system paradigm, where users can retrieve data from small-scale servers inter-operating at the network's edge. The analysis, design, and optimization of such systems require a tractable model that will reflect their costs and bottlenecks. Alas, most existing mathematical models for edge systems focus on stateless tasks, network performance, or isolated nodes and are inapplicable for evaluating edge-based storage performance. We analyze the capacity-region model - the most promising model proposed so far for edge storage systems. The model addresses the system's ability to serve a set of user demands. Our analysis reveals five inherent gaps between this model and reality, demonstrating the significant remaining challenges in modeling storage service at the edge.

翻译：边缘系统有望将数据和计算资源更靠近时间关键型应用的用户。具体而言，边缘存储系统正作为一种新的系统范式出现，用户可从网络边缘协同运作的小规模服务器中检索数据。对此类系统的分析、设计及优化亟需一个可处理的模型来反映其成本与瓶颈。然而，现有大多数边缘系统数学模型聚焦于无状态任务、网络性能或孤立节点，无法适用于评估基于边缘的存储性能。本文分析了容量区域模型——目前针对边缘存储系统提出的最有前景的模型。该模型关注系统满足用户需求集合的能力。我们的分析揭示了该模型与现实之间存在的五类固有差距，展示了边缘存储服务建模仍面临的重大挑战。