A Survey on the Computing Continuum and Meta-Operating Systems: Perspectives, Architectures, Outcomes, and Open Challenges

The goal of the study presented in this work is to analyze all recent advances in the context of the computing continuum and meta-operating systems (meta-OSs). The term continuum includes a variety of diverse hardware and computing elements, as well as network protocols, ranging from lightweight Internet of Things (IoT) components to more complex edge or cloud servers. To this end, the rapid penetration of IoT technology in modern-era networks, along with associated applications, poses new challenges towards efficient application deployment over heterogeneous network infrastructures. These challenges involve, among others, the interconnection of a vast number of IoT devices and protocols, proper resource management, and threat protection and privacy preservation. Hence, unified access mechanisms, data management policies, and security protocols are required across the continuum to support the vision of seamless connectivity and diverse device integration. This task becomes even more important as discussions on sixth generation (6G) networks are already taking place, which they are envisaged to coexist with IoT applications. Therefore, in this work the most significant technological approaches to satisfy the aforementioned challenges and requirements are presented and analyzed. To this end, a proposed architectural approach is also presented and discussed, which takes into consideration all key players and components in the continuum. In the same context, indicative use cases and scenarios that are leveraged from a meta-OSs in the computing continuum are presented as well. Finally, open issues and related challenges are also discussed.