This week, Cisco delivered on its vision for fog computing, transforming the network edge into a computing infrastructure for applications that take advantage of already connected in the Internet of Things (IoT). With the new Cisco IOx capability, solution providers across industries will be able to develop, manage and run software applications directly on Cisco industrial networked-devices, including hardened routers, switches and IP video cameras, instead of using the power of the cloud.

Typically, IoT devices talk to a small router nearby, but that router may have anintermittent connection to the Internet. In cases where huge amounts of data coming out of these devices, it's often a waste of time and bandwidth to ship all the data into a cloud and then transmit the cloud's responses back out to the edge. Instead, some of the cloud's work should take place in the routers themselves, specifically industrial-strength Cisco routers built to work in the field.

To equip its routers to do that computing, Cisco plans to combine Linux with its IOS (Internetworking Operating System) to create a distributed computing infrastructure - "fog computing."

In addition, users will be able to use their current Linux applications to run on the Cisco infrastructure. They will also be able to create new sensing and control functions by writing applications using Cisco's IOx SDK (software development kit).

Cisco IOx capabilities will initially be available in Cisco industrial routers this spring.