Growth of Content Delivery Networks
Speeding up Web hosting performance is the Holy Grail of network computing. But finding and keeping that golden chalice is harder than you think. Many enterprises have perished in a thicket of failed technologies, wrong decisions, and lost opportunities.
One approach that has maximized Internet performance in real-world deployments is CDNs – Content Delivery Networks. CDNs from providers such as Akamai, Digital Island, Mirror Image, iBeam, and so on, act as overlay networks that push popular or commonly requested Internet content from the core closer to the (destination) end user. By sending the content to the edge of the network, Content Delivery Networks can execute future requests for this same content more quickly because the number of WAN router hops is reduced, as is latency. Edge content resides in a cache that stores the data for future retrieval.
Besides speeding up Web performance, CDNs and caching relieve congestion on the origin server. Other users are directed to the cache nearest them for the desired content, instead of the server farm. This step also decreases WAN bandwidth consumption because traffic runs from the end user to the network edge, instead of to the core.
Until recently though, you could only procure CDNs from providers. While enterprise customers could deploy caches, only companies such as Akamai could meet more complex content delivery needs. But several companies-Inktomi, CacheFlow, Network Appliance, and Cisco Systems-have crafted CDN platforms specifically for private networks. You should expect to see more of this in the future as providers push to optimize their infrastructures for new, advanced web technologies such as Webcasting.
Streaming Technology Growth
Streaming technology, spearheaded by the likes of RealNetworks and others, allows customers to transmit live audio and video over the Internet. By using a variety of data compression techniques that work with both normal IP connections as well as IP Multicast connections, a video program, radio program or concert can be sent out over the web in real time.
Streaming technologies are becoming increasingly important with the growth of the Internet because most users do not have fast enough access to download large multimedia files quickly. With streaming, the client browser or plug-in can start displaying the data before the entire file has been transmitted. Expect the Internet to morph into a streaming media outlet as the move to broadband continues and , as a result, the continued development of providers with this ability. Currently, companies such as RealNetworks and Live365 are at the forefront of this trend.
Hopefully this hosting website will help you navigate the maze of choices available when choosing your Web hosting provider. As the market matures there will be consolidation. The weak providers will go away or be bought by the bigger companies. Expect the strongly marketed companies, the ones deep pockets needed for advertising, to survive and be the ones gobbling up the weak ones. The big players like HostGator, GreenHost, and GoDaddy will continue to thrive. Hosts will continue to expand their site-building technologies, allowing novices the ability to develop professional looking content. New technologies and the widespread adoption of broadband in the customer’s homes will open up new possibilities for hosting providers. Expect to see much change in the years ahead.
