Netflow parameters and data that comes from CDNs

Tue Dec 1 23:53:23 UTC 2015

Hopefully this should be a simple question ...

(Note: Akamai used as a generic CDN name in the context of this email
and could be any CDN provider)

Context: regulatory filings where wireless carriers states that zero
rating of certain selected streaming music is done based on the "from
IP" in packets coming into its network.

When a content provider such as jf_music.com (fictitious)  makes use of
one or more content distribution networks, does the "from IP" in packets
belong to the CDN, or to jf_music.com ?  (if Akamai uses IPs provided by
jf_music, this has inteteresting routing questions).

If I setup such a service with Akamai, does Akamai provide me with an
authoritative list of IPs that will be generating my traffic in various
cities ? Are these IPs stable or would they typically change fairly
often as Akamai builds more nodes etc ?

And do various CDNs have very different implementations ?

And in fictitious case of jf_music.com hiring Akamai, would the Akamai
server(s)  have a dedicated IP for jf_music in each city (or re-use same
IP via anycast)  or would the CDN servers use the same IP address to
deliver multiple services from totally different content providers ?

(Considering BGP routing limits , I have to assume that routing of
individual IPs can't be done).

I need more of a sanity check on this.