Content Delivery Networks: Fundamentals, Design, and Evolution

The definitive guide to developing robust content delivery networks

This book examines the real-world engineering challenges of developing robust content delivery networks (CDNs) and provides the tools required to overcome those challenges and to ensure high-quality content delivery that fully satisfies operators’ and consumers' commercial objectives. It is informed by the author’s two decades of experience building and delivering large, mission-critical live video, webcasts, and radio streaming, online and over private IP networks.

Following an overview of the field, the book cuts to the chase with in-depth discussions―laced with good-natured humor―of a wide range of design considerations for different network topologies. It begins with a description of the author's own requirement filtration processes. From there it moves on to initial sketches, through considerations of stakeholder roles and responsibilities, to the complex challenges of managing change in established teams. Agile versus waterfall considerations within large blue chip companies, security, commercial models, and value chain alignment are explored in detail. Featured throughout the book are numerous "what if" scenarios that help provide a clear picture of the wide spectrum of practical contexts for which readers may be tasked with building and implementing a CDN. In addition, the book:

• Discusses delivery of live, catch-up, scheduled on-demand, TVOD and SVOD
• Offers insights into the decisions that can to be made when architecting a content distribution system over IP-based networks
• Covers CDN topologies, including Edge-Caching, Streaming-Splitting, Pure-Play, Operator, Satellite, and Hybrid
• Examines computer hosting and orchestration for dedicated appliances and virtualization
• Includes real-world cases covering everything from IETF, regulatory considerations, and policy formation, to coding, hardware vendors, and network operators
• Considers the future of CDN technologies and the market forces driving its evolution

Written by a back-room engineer for back-room engineers, Content Delivery Networks gets readers up to speed on the real-world challenges they can face as well as tried-and-true strategies for addressing those challenges in order to ensure the delivery of the high-quality content delivery networks that clients demand and users expect. 

Dom Robinson is Co-Founder and Director of Innovations at id3as, London, UK. With more than two decades in the field, Robinson is one of the pioneers in online video, streaming media, and content delivery networks. His company, id3as, has been at the forefront of cloud delivery of live video at-scale, and is responsible for the software that powers a wide range of high profile online publishers, including NASDAQ, Perform, Intelsat, Arqiva and numerous others. He writes for StreamingMedia.com, is a Visiting Lecturer at Sussex University, Chairs a number of CDN and related Conferences, and frequently is quoted by industry magazines as a CDN and technical networks expert.