Akamai CDN Services




Akamai CDN Services











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Akamai CDN Services

by Faulkner Staff

Copyright 2020, Faulkner Information Services. All
Rights Reserved.

Docid: 00021407

Publication Date: 2005

Report Type: PRODUCT

Preview

Akamai provides a broad portfolio of enterprise-class content delivery
network (CDN) solutions enabled by the Akamai Intelligent Platform. Akamai
operates the world’s largest CDN with more than 288,000 globally
distributed servers. Akamai’s content delivery network solutions
include Aura Licensed CDN for do-it-yourself CDN operators and Aura
Managed CDN, a cloud-based CDN service package.

Report Contents:

Description

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Akamai provides a broad portfolio of enterprise-class content delivery
network (CDN) solutions enabled by the Akamai Intelligent Platform.

Related
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Amazon Web Services Product
Profile
Amazon CloudFront Service Product
Profile
Limelight Networks CDN
Services Product Profile
Level 3 Communications CDN
Services Product Profile
Content Delivery Networks Tutorial

The Akamai Intelligent Platform is comprised of a distributed network of
servers and intelligent software, delivering more than two trillion
interactions daily. No firm delivers more Web traffic than Akamai and 85
percent of Internet users are a single network hop away. Akamai operates
288,000 servers in approximately 136 countries, within over 1,500 networks
throughout the world. It has over 7,500 employees.

Content Delivery Network

In a CDN, content is copied and distributed – or replicated – to
strategically dispersed servers. When a specific page or file is requested
by an authorized user, the CDN identifies the nearest server (as
determined by the minimum number of nodes between the server and the user)
and disseminates the information. By ensuring that content is delivered
from the nearest source, data transit time – and, thus, system response
time – are minimized.

The concept is analogous to a product distribution network in which an
enterprise maintains three product warehouses, each stocked with the same
merchandise. One warehouse is located in New York, another in Chicago, and
the third in Los Angeles. If a customer located in Philadelphia orders a
product, the product is shipped from the nearest warehouse (in this case,
New York). Similarly, if a customer in Phoenix orders the same product,
the product is dispatched from the warehouse closest to Phoenix (namely,
Los Angeles).

Note: A content delivery network is often
referred to as a content distribution network.

Vendor
Name: Akamai
U.S. Headquarters
8 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
(877) 3-AKAMAI
Web: http://www.akamai.com/
Type of Vendor: Content Delivery Network Services
Provider
Founded: 1998
Service Areas: Worldwide
Stock Symbol: AKAM (Nasdaq)

Akamai CDN Solutions

Akamai’s content delivery network solutions include Aura Licensed CDN,
Aura Managed CDN, and Media Content Delivery.

Aura Licensed CDN

With the Aura Licensed CDN, an operator can build and operate a highly
scalable media content delivery network that efficiently delivers its own
content as well as content from Akamai customers and other targeted online
or Over-The-Top (OTT) services, all utilizing a common HTTP caching
infrastructure.

This software-only solution runs on Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS)
hardware or in Virtual Machine (VM) environments and federates with the Akamai
Intelligent
Platform
providing global delivery of operator content with a single business
agreement.

Aura Licensed CDN:

  • Reduces costs by offloading traffic, controlling delivery, and
    consolidating CDN infrastructure.
  • Transforms the online video experience by extending video libraries,
    accelerating content, and streaming to any device.
  • Discovers additional revenue opportunities with higher-tier packages
    and bundles and provides the ability to offer CDN services directly to
    content owners.

Aura Managed CDN

Aura Managed CDN provides an operator with content delivery network
capabilities through an infrastructure that is maintained by Akamai. With
it, an operator can deploy a highly scalable, completely turnkey media CDN
that leverages the same CDN techniques used by Akamai but on servers that
are dedicated to the network operator’s services.

Aura Managed CDN:

  • Reduces complexity and cost with a turnkey CDN solution maintained and
    monitored 24/7 by Akamai.
  • Transforms the online video experience by extending video libraries,
    accelerating content, and video streaming to any device.
  • Creates new and increases existing revenue streams with higher-tier
    packages or bundles and the ability to offer CDN services directly to
    content owners.

Media Content Delivery

Akamai Media Content Delivery products provide high-performance, highly
reliable HTTP delivery of media content to address the broad variety of
network types – fixed or mobile – at varying connection speeds. Built on
the Akamai Intelligent Platform, the world’s largest CDN with more than
288,000 globally distributed servers, Akamai Media Content Delivery
products are optimized to meet the delivery needs of its focused content
type:

  • Download Delivery, for large file downloads,
    including games, progressive media (video and audio) files, documents,
    and other file-based content.
  • Adaptive Media Delivery, for streaming video content
    in adaptive bitrate streaming formats, including Apple’s HLS, Adobe’s
    HDS, Microsoft’s Smooth Streaming, and the MPEG-DASH format.

CDN Strategy and Trends

With the rise of live and streaming content, Web traffic has been booming
recent years. With COVID-19 confining people to their homes, web traffic
has increased significantly during the first half of 2020. According to
The Motley Fool, “With many people now stuck at home, though, initial
reports indicate that Akamai and other CDNs are experiencing as much as a
50% increase in traffic so far in March. With investors taking cover in
small pockets of the market seen as being able to weather the storm,
Akamai’s surge in demand has the stock currently trading down 5% year to
date, compared with a 28% decline for the S&P 500.1

Applications

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Akamai’s content delivery network and CDN solutions serve three distinct
constituencies: Web users, content owners, and network service providers:

  • Web Users – Users of Web sites and Web applications
    delivered through a content delivery network experience faster page
    loads and faster transactions than they would otherwise.
  • Content Owners – For content owners such as
    e-commerce sites, media properties, and cloud computing companies, a
    content delivery network helps enhance the end user experience, lowering
    abandonment rates, increasing ad impressions, improving conversion
    rates, and strengthening customer loyalty. Using a CDN can also
    contribute to web security; for example, helping to absorb and mitigate
    a denial of service attack.
  • Network Service Providers – With the explosive growth
    of online streaming, today’s network service providers are finding it
    necessary to deploy their own content delivery networks. For network
    operators, deploying a CDN can reduce subscriber churn, facilitate the
    development of value-added services, reduce traffic on the core network,
    and enable operators to sell CDN services to enterprises and third-party
    content owners.

Environment

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Aura Network Services are enabled by the Akamai Intelligent Platform. The
Akamai Intelligent Platform is comprised of a distributed network of
servers and intelligent software, delivering more than two trillion
interactions daily. No firm delivers more Web traffic than Akamai and 85
percent of Internet users are a single network hop away.

The servers that comprise the Akamai Intelligent Platform are all
controlled by Akamai software that is constantly monitoring Internet
conditions. This enables the Platform to:

  • Identify, absorb, and block security threats.
  • Provide instant device-level detection and optimization.
  • Make decisions based on comprehensive knowledge of network
    conditions.
  • Present business and technical insights regarding Platform operation.

Support

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For urgent issues, Akamai clients may call (877) 4-AKATEC
(US and Canada only) or (617) 444-4699.

For non-urgent issues, Akamai clients are encouraged to e-mail ccare@akamai.com.

Pricing

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For pricing information, please contact an Akamai sales representative at
877-425-2624.

Competitors

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  • Amazon CloudFront Service
  • BitTorrent DNA Service
  • Internap CDN Services
  • Limelight Networks CDN Services
  • Level 3 CDN Services

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References

1 Rossolillo, Nicholas. “Akamai Stock Is Up Amid COVID-19
Crash as Web Traffic Soars.” The Motley Fool. March 21, 2020.

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