onhost

Onhost is a software pattern and, in some contexts, a product category that enables workloads to run and be managed directly on the host machine. By performing execution and control locally, onhost contrasts with centralized orchestration where the control plane runs on separate nodes or clusters. The term is used in hardware-constrained environments and in edge computing to emphasize data locality and low latency.

Core components typically include an onhost agent, a local resource manager, a sandboxed runtime, a policy engine, and telemetry and security modules. The agent may enforce policies, collect metrics, and negotiate with external controllers, but can operate autonomously when network connectivity is limited or unavailable.

Operations emphasize lifecycle management, resource isolation, and direct access to host resources such as GPUs, accelerators, or large memory pools. Workloads may be containerized or run in lightweight sandboxes to maintain isolation while minimizing network hops to data sources.

Benefits include reduced latency, improved data locality, simpler networking, and stronger trust boundaries at the host level. Drawbacks include potential security risks from exposing more of the host surface, risk of resource contention, and challenges in multi-tenant environments where centralized control is desired.

Typical use cases are edge computing, real-time analytics, industrial IoT, and on-premises AI inference where fast local decision making is critical. In practice, onhost solutions are often complemented by remote management planes to coordinate fleets of hosts and provide policy distribution.

See also: edge computing, containerization, orchestration, local control plane.