Glossary Updates12 new terms added to the glossaries · October 2, 2026, 22:44 CEST
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Glossary · IIoT, data and AI

Fog computing

Also known as: Fog, Fogging

German: Fog Computing

Fog computing is a layered computing model that places computing, storage and networking resources between edge devices and cloud data centers, for example on line or plant servers, so that data can be processed, aggregated and filtered close to its source. NIST SP 500-325 describes a conceptual model.

  • IIoT

In one sentence

Fog computing adds a processing layer between edge devices and the cloud, such as line or plant servers that aggregate and filter data.

Example

A plant server aggregates data from 40 edge devices, calculates OEE per line and sends only hourly summaries to the corporate cloud.

How it applies

  • Engineering: A fog layer suits functions that need data from several machines but should not depend on the internet connection, such as line-level analytics or local dashboards.
  • Operation: The fog layer adds servers that have to be operated, backed up and secured, typically in the plant's operations zone.
  • Documentation: In architecture documents, show which functions run at edge, fog and cloud level and which data flows between them.

Fog computing vs. edge computing

Edge computing processes data on or directly next to the device. Fog computing describes the distributed layer between edge and cloud and the orchestration across it. In practice many vendors use edge for both, so check what a document means.

By knowledge.aitechdoc.world · Published September 26, 2026 · Last reviewed

Source: NIST SP 500-325 (2018), Fog Computing Conceptual Model

Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Knowledge and are not part of any standard.

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