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Monitoring and Observability in Edge Computing Systems: Taxonomy, Comparative Analysis, and Research Directions

Hamza Ahmed¹, Hassan Jamil Syed^2,*, Aqsa Aslam¹, Sehar Zehra¹, Ummay Faseeha¹, Nurzati Iwani Othman²

1 School of Computing, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
2 School of Technology, Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

* Corresponding Author: Hassan Jamil Syed. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Integrating Computing Technology of Cloud-Fog-Edge Environments and its Application)

Computers, Materials & Continua 2026, 88(2), 6 https://doi.org/10.32604/cmc.2026.080115

Received 03 February 2026; Accepted 30 April 2026; Issue published 15 June 2026

Abstract

Edge computing is an emerging model for latency-sensitive and distributed applications. However, the observability of edge computing systems in heterogeneous environments remains a challenge, as most existing approaches are limited to only the system, service, application, and network layers. This paper surveys state-of-the-art solutions for edge observability and monitoring. The paper further introduces a thematic taxonomy that groups the state-of-the-art edge observability and monitoring literature based on monitoring intent, telemetry indicators, observability scope, architectural layers, deployment environments, and observability toolchains. Finally, we compare representative solutions in terms of latency, system overhead, bandwidth consumption, and detection accuracy. Our analysis reveals the trade-offs present in existing solutions regarding the overhead and performance metrics, as well as the limitations they impose when scaling, addressing mobility, or augmenting telemetry. Lastly, we conclude with a discussion on open challenges and future directions for designing next-generation, edge observability frameworks.

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Keywords

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