Choreography at the Edge: A Multivocal Literature Review

Abstract

In distributed edge computing, effective resource management is key. While orchestration offers centralized control, choreography provides a decentralized alternative more suited to dynamic, resource-constrained environments-especially within emerging serverless paradigms. This study investigates choreography techniques for serverless edge computing, analyzing coordination strategies, communication models, and application domain. We conducted a Multivocal Literature Review (MLR), selecting 12 peer-reviewed studies from 332 sources (200 gray, 122 white literature). Three main choreography approaches emerged: structured, scheduling-based, and hybrid. End-to-end communication was twice as common as broadcasting. IoT was the most prevalent domain, consistent with the dominant use of lightweight edge devices. Choreography offers performance and flexibility benefits but remains underexplored. Key limitations include resource management challenges, underscoring the need for further research into scalable, decentralized coordination models for the edge.