But, there are big differences between them. If you don’t have a complete understanding of the differences, you don’t know the value of AtomBeam. The two words sound similar, but there’s a world of difference between what they can do for you.
Data Compaction is a process that reduces the size of messages by sending tiny Codewords that represent patterns in data—rather than actually sending any data.
Compaction works on individual messages including very small messages—IoT and machine data—messages as small as 8 bytes.
By contrast, Compression only works on large groups of messages, or files that are large (at least 1 KB and larger).
Compaction works best on repetitive, low entropy IoT or machine data.
AtomBeam uses Machine Learning to look at a small volume of data to determine the patterns at the bit level. We call this “training” the software (to find patterns).
Each pattern becomes a Codeword and all Codewords (representing patterns) then go into a Codebook. We do the heavy computation in advance when creating the Codebook, eliminating almost all computational overhead.
The Codebook is placed in a source (such as a sensor), and a destination (such as the cloud). The source and destination can now communicate solely in Codewords.
Compression seeks repetitions of data patterns on a single file or group of messages that becomes a file.
Messages are compacted and transmitted in real time and Codewords are sent immediately. There is no need for messages to be accumulated and sent in batches.
Compression does not and can not transmit in real time.
It only requires a table lookup which takes microseconds. Compaction can be up to 400x faster than compression to send the first bits out the door.
Compression—by its nature—injects latency. In Compression, the file is scanned multiple times looking for patterns. The pattern search is file by file, and takes a lot more time and energy because it’s inefficient.
AtomBeam’s average IoT reduction is 75%.
Compression often greatly enlarges the size of small messages.
Compression has a large footprint and substantial processing requirements.
Compression transmission errors are serious. In compression, a single “flipped bit” can result in a cascade of errors in a compressed file. This requires retransmission of the entire file. In some cases, the file is rendered useless.
AtomBeam does not lose a single bit of data.
Some compression is lossy, making it impractical for many uses.
You may want to review our Working With Us page to understand the onboarding process to try AtomBeam for yourself.