Content Delivery Networks

A content delivery network (CDN) consists of a series of nodes (servers) placed in geographically distributed locations. Through solutions such as IP anycast or GeoIP (and sometimes a combination of the two), website visitors are directed to the closest node when downloading large files and other static content. This content can be stored on an origin node (a central location where the full website is hosted, including dynamic content) and intelligently cached at the edge nodes (which are at the geographically distributed locations) as requests are made. In this setup, after a particular edge node receives it's first request for a file, it will be stored within its cache for a designated period, allowing the next request to be served quickly. In some situations, particularly for lower traffic sites, this can reduce performance, as files constantly need to be cached which adds additional latency to requests. In addition, many CDNs are oversubscribed, which can also add delays to requests, further reducing performance.

The MediaLayer Approach

MediaLayer's engineering team is currently developing a high-performance, non-oversubscribed global content delivery network which includes features that can solve the aforementioned problems, while delivering an affordable price point. Is there something you would like to see in the ideal CDN product? Please use the contact form below to submit your inquiry.