Content Delivery Networks/GSLB

Mon Nov 8 21:36:08 UTC 2004

On Mon, 8 Nov 2004, M. Huda wrote:

: market today. I need to know about the technology and how the
: solution/company (such as Akamai) caters its customers. Do they mirror
: the content across their server's network? If this is the case then
: how a request is directed to the closest and lightly loaded server on
: Internet?

This is the proprietary part of the technology that produced law suits
with Akamai.  Here's Akamai's sound byte:

   Host-to-Host Adaptive Routing Protocol (HHARP). HHARP detects Internet
   congestion and determines the best route to move content between a
   customer's origin servers and the edge of the Internet, thereby
   avoiding performance problems.

Don't forget that Akamai is not the only one.  Footprint, which went from
Sandpiper -> Digital Island -> Cable and Wireless -> Savvis, is the
product on the other side of the lawsuit.  I don't know if it was ever
resolved fully...

scott