CDNs and P2P
P2P is making headlines these days for all the right reasons. BitTorrent is helping Brightcove deliver high quality videos, Joost is signing major content partners left and right, and this little company called Pando Networks is putting the fastest scaling and most efficient Hybrid P2P content delivery platform in the hands of media companies to accelerate and optimize their HD media streams, downloads and RSS channels. What say the 800-pound gorillas in the room? Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) have traditionally serviced media delivery by deploying thousands of “edge” servers across the globe to ensure optimal content availability and performance. However, as CDN pricing wars rage, CDNs are increasingly looking for ways to protect their shrinking margins. Enter Hybrid P2P; a “best-of-both-worlds” combination of the always-on reliability and control of centrally hosted web servers with the scale and efficiency of distributed node-based delivery.
The inherent properties of Hybrid P2P networking represents a fundamental evolution of the physics of content delivery — supply is directly proportional to demand and inversely proportional to cost. Wow. Now in human-speak … as more consumers stream or download your video, the better it performs and the less it costs you to deliver it. Oh happy day! Not so fast.
The marriage of traditional CDNs and P2P of course has its nay sayers and indeed real challenges. Most notably, matrimonial success relies on the consumer showing up and bringing a gift - their bandwidth. They need to install software that contributes some of their upstream bandwidth to the collective distributed content delivery network. Ouch? Secondly, P2P needs to compliment and grow the CDN business not “disrupt it” as some P2P players have tattooed on their chests. As an insider I can share the good news; both of these challenges have solid, proven solutions. Legit P2P applications like Pando and Joost have shown that millions of people will install software and contribute a small portion of their bandwidth to enjoy and share a higher quality media experience online. If you respect a consumer’s PC resources and provide a simple, elegant, high value user experience, the masses will install your software. As for the CDN business, Hybrid P2P has traditional CDNs at the center of its solution. It serves to a) optimize CDN service by reducing incremental delivery costs for customers thus encouraging them to increase media quality (e.g. HD) and b) maintain operating margins for CDNs.
The CDNs are really starting to get it. Two of the biggest gorillas; Akamai and Verisign have made the first moves by acquiring P2P companies and the others aren’t far behind with planned Hybrid P2P offerings.
So what’s the future CDN-P2P family look like and what will it mean for content companies? I’m moderating a panel at Streaming Media West with Akamai, Verisign, Internap, Level 3 and CacheLogic on precisely this topic. If you’re interested, come check us out.
