Content Delivery Network Blog | CDN EvangelistThe blog for CDN professionals

Atlanta –– March 17, 2010 — Silicon Valley Bank, financial partner to technology companies of all sizes worldwide, led a $35 million debt financing for Highwinds, a content, network and hosted IP services business that offers a comprehensive suite of services including CDN, IP transit, content storage and IP software. Highwinds’ platform and global network are trusted by top brands to deliver live event streaming, on-demand video and large file downloads to millions of global users every day. 

Highwinds, which is venture backed by Alta Communications, General Catalyst Partners and the European Founders Fund, will use the proceeds of this recent financing to refinance existing debt and accelerate its growth.

“With sustained growth, continued success in the market and a desire to have the flexibility to further expand our platform and network to bring valuable content to users around the world, we sought out a banking partner to help us achieve our business objectives,” said Steve Miller, president and CEO of Highwinds. “Because of our favorable financial profile and Silicon Valley Bank’s understanding of our business and market dynamics, they were the ideal partner in executing this all-important new financing.”

“Silicon Valley Bank has been dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed for nearly 30 years and through our depth of knowledge about the technology and telecommunications industry, we’re glad to be in a position to lead an important financing for Highwinds,” said Dale Kirkland of Silicon Valley Bank in Atlanta. “Our partnership model enables us to work with our clients and bring in other banking partners as needed since we’re focused on the long-term growth objectives of each company.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Netflix March 16 said it signed Akamai Technologies as the primary content delivery network (CDN) for its Watch Instantly streaming service.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai replaces or co-mingles with Netflix’s current CDN, Limelight.

With servers less than 100 miles from all end users, Akamai’s service is considered one of the fastest delivery paths from the server closest to the end user.

Close proximity between end users and servers, especially for high definition files, is considered one of the essential requirements for download and delivery of movies with uninterrupted, smooth playback for users.

Akamai will also assist Netflix with its planned European launch later this year of a stand-alone streaming service.

n addition, Akamai, which at one time marketed one of the first digital entertainment set-top boxes, is the CDN of choice for Apple’s iTunes movie rentals and downloads.

There continues to be much speculation about a pending Netflix app on the Apple’s App store, scuttlebutt Netflix downplays.

“We chose Akamai as our primary content delivery network because we need a strong partner to deliver movies instantly and to be able to meet our ever-increasing demand,” said Andrew Rendich with Netflix, in a statement.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based online DVD rental pioneer has seen its membership grow exponentially due in part to offering streaming as a value-add to monthly subscribers.

Indeed, by the end of 2009, almost half of the 12.3 million Netflix members had instantly watched a movie or TV episode on either a computer or TV via a Netflix ready device.

Netflix Selects Akamai for Streaming | homemediamagazine.com

New data center in Northern California and expansion of Houston, Texas facility broadens delivery of colocation services to enterprise customers

 

ATLANTA, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Internap Network Services Corporation (Nasdaq: INAP), a global provider of end-to-end Internet business products and services, today announced the planned opening of a new data center in Santa Clara, California and the expansion of its data center in Houston. These facilities will allow enterprise customers in key markets to utilize Internap’s growing footprint of colocation services as they continue to move more data, applications and operations online.

The new Santa Clara facility adds 27,000 square feet of net sellable footprint and offers a power density that scales with increasing customer IT demands. The higher power density is well suited to meet the demands of the high-technology industries across Northern California, including Silicon Valley. The Houston facility will add 5,000 square feet of net sellable space to Internap’s existing facility, with the ability to expand further to meet future customer needs.

Both data centers will be operated and staffed by Internap, with 24×7 technical support. Each facility will use best-in-class equipment, power and cooling systems and utilize green data center best practices to minimize energy consumption and environmental impact, along with SAS 70 Type II compliance practices, similar to the rest of Internap’s company-controlled data centers. Both the Santa Clara facility and the Houston expansion are expected to be online in the third quarter of 2010.

"The new Santa Clara facility and the Houston expansion are examples of our corporate strategy to grow our company-controlled data centers in key regions and markets," said Mike Higgins, senior vice president of Data Center Services at Internap. "Santa Clara is one of the highest utilization markets in North America according to Tier1 Research. The addition of Santa Clara opens up our sixth North American market, and further expands our company-controlled data center capabilities into a market where historically Internap has had strong colocation sales activities."

The combination of both facilities adds 32,000 net sellable square feet for an expected $28 million of capex. Internap plans to bring 19,000 square feet of this space online in the third quarter of 2010 in order to meet current customer demand.

Internap offers a comprehensive set of data center services, ranging from colocation to managed hosting, which allow customers to deliver and store content and data on a reliable and scalable technology infrastructure. Customers can also easily access Internap’s high-performance IP network and Content Delivery Network (CDN) from their worldwide locations. Internap’s IP network, CDN and data center services utilize the company’s patented Managed Internet Route Optimizer™ (MIRO) technology, which analyzes network performance characteristics – such as available bandwidth, delays and packet loss – in real time and ensures that Internet traffic is routed over the best path 100% of the time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Aflexi Launches CDN FlexiMart – Makes it Easy for Web Hosts to Instantly Buy, Sell and Trade Bandwidth Aflexi FlexiMart transforms Internet competitors into business partners, while monetizing excess server and bandwidth capacity.
Malaysia, March 2, 2010 – Aflexi, a leading developer of CDN Software and Content Delivery Network Management solutions today launched the new Aflexi FlexiMart platform. (http://www.aflexi.net/technology/fleximart) FlexiMart enables web hosts to share infrastructure by allowing them to buy, sell and trade capacity, in real time and on the fly, both at a fixed price and via auction-like bidding. Aflexi enables CDNs, content providers and web hosting service providers to merge and expand networks as needed.

Aflexi Launches CDN FlexiMart – Makes it Easy for Web Hosts to Instantly Buy, Sell and Trade Bandwidth

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – (Business Wire) Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today announced that it is working with North Carolina-based video game developer Icarus Studios to deliver Caching, Download and Storage services for the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), Fallen Earth.

Since the release of Fallen Earth last fall, Level 3 has been working with co-developers Icarus Studios, a leading provider of white-label MMOGs and virtual worlds, and Fallen Earth, LLC to deliver the Caching and Download services for the award-winning game.

“Since the launch, we have aimed to make Fallen Earth more accessible to all of our customers worldwide,” said James Hettinger, CEO of Icarus Studios. “Level 3 enables us to provide players with a quick, reliable download and seamless gaming experience. With Level 3, we have increased our bandwidth capacity by 20-fold and supported peaks of up to 4,000 Megabits per second.”

Icarus Studios also uses Level 3 Content Delivery Network (CDN) services to deliver new content and critical game updates to players, making it a vital component of their infrastructure.

In addition to Caching and Download services, Level 3 offers a full suite of CDN services, providing game developers and publishers with solutions for live event streaming for tournaments and new game launches, real-time usage analytics and insight, traffic management services, and data storage. Level 3 is positioned to provide true end-to-end solutions that enable content delivery from "creation to consumption.”

“The Level 3 network is designed to support the high-quality experience online gamers demand,” said Peter Neill, senior vice president of Content Markets for Level 3. “Leveraging the capabilities of the Level 3 network, we’re able to provide not only the reliable infrastructure and real-time traffic management that are critical for a quality gaming experience; we provide customers like Icarus Studios with 24/7 access to reporting data and analytics to help them make better decisions for their business.”

For more information on Level 3’s gaming solutions, please visit http://www.level3.com/index.cfm?pageID=151.

For information on Icarus Studios and Fallen Earth, visit www.icarusstudios.com.

Read the rest of this entry »

Saguna Networks Ltd. a leading provider of Mobile Content Delivery solution, today announced that it will partner with Alvarion Ltd. /quotes/comstock/15*!alvr/quotes/nls/alvr (ALVR 3.67, +0.04, +1.10%) .

Saguna’s CODS(TM) is a carrier grade system, providing content caching and acceleration designed to meet the growing demand of content over WiMAX(TM) networks. The system essentially reduces the need for backhaul capacity increase, as well as improves cell-utilization and user-experience.

The CODS(TM) patented technology reduces content transport bandwidth requirements over WiMAX and cellular networks, reducing Opex and delaying Capex expenditures.

Alvarion is a leading provider of WiMAX and wireless broadband solutions worldwide. The addition of Saguna’s solution into Alvarion’s industry leading WiMAX product-portfolio provides new capabilities to existing and new customers.

"Alvarion is committed to bring new innovation to its customers through its partner solutions based on its OPEN WiMAX strategy," said Dr. Mohammad Shakouri, Corporate Vice President, Innovation and Marketing of Alvarion. "Saguna Networks’ innovative mobile CDN solution provides good improvement to network performance in certain deployment scenarios."

"We are very excited to partner with Alvarion" said Uzi Breier, Chairman of Saguna. "The ever growing demand for reach-content over broadband networks drives innovation in network technology throughout our industry. This partnership is bound to yield an impressive product and superior service-offing to the WiMAX market"

"This new partnership with Alvarion allows Saguna access to the market via a leading vendor" Said Lior Fite Founder and CEO of Saguna "We were impressed by Alvarion’s open platform technology that allowed us easy integration path with their products.

Read the rest of this entry »

CDNetworks (KOSDAQ: 073710), a top-three global, full-service content delivery network (CDN), announced today that MrsP.com, the new free children’s education and entertainment website created and produced by a team of Hollywood veterans, has selected CDNetworks as its exclusive provider of HD streaming video services and website acceleration services. CDNetworks was selected for its ability to deliver MrsP.com’s content with "effortless magic," to children around the world, using CDNetworks’ implementation of HD Adobe Flash Media Server 3, global network infrastructure, and leading-edge content delivery technologies.
MrsP.com’s goal is to inspire young people, ages 4-12, to use their imaginations and to spark a passion for books and reading. The website is subscription-free and contains no advertising. MrsP.com features well-known TV star, Kathy Kinney (who played Mimi Bobeck on the Drew Carey show) as Mrs. P, a redheaded Irishwoman who reads classic children’s stories from her "Magic Library." The HD video content, filmed by a Hollywood production crew, includes original illustrations or photographs to help tell the stories, but focuses primarily on the emotive performances of the storyteller. The site is created and produced, with top Hollywood production values, by Mrs P Enterprises, founded by Kinney, Hollywood-veteran TV writer Clay Graham, and former entertainment and New Media executive, Dana Plautz.
The MrsP.com website is a rich, multimedia experience filled with interactive features, images, audio, games, contests and videos. The primary content offered on MrsP.com is a library of original HD streaming videos, ranging from 5-30 minutes, offered by Mrs. P from her "Magic Library." MrsP.com’s creators and producers required content delivery technology and services that would support the mood of "effortless magic" on the video-heavy website, to ensure its young audience would have a smooth viewing experience.
"Waiting forever for videos to load, or for an image of Mrs. P to buffer, would take away from the charm of our site," said Clay Graham, Co-President of Mrs P Enterprises, LLC. "We are doing something that’s never been done before in a children’s website. The first companies we approached said what we wanted was technologically impossible. But CDNetworks knew just what to do."
"Delivering a rich media environment, without extreme load times for end users, was a key implementation challenge," said Dana Plautz, Co-President of MrsP.com. "CDNetworks offered us solutions to help navigate some of these content-management issues. With its global content delivery infrastructure and leading-edge CDN technology, CDNetworks enables an exceptionally high-quality video viewing experience for our young viewers, giving them a ‘magical’ Mrs. P experience."
"We are extremely pleased to be working with MrsP.com, which is a premiere example of a dynamic and innovative content provider in the entertainment sector," said Simon Lee, CEO of CDNetworks US. "CDNetworks is proud to offer a proven leading-edge, streaming-technology infrastructure, leveraging our deep experience in Adobe FMS 3, to guarantee a fast, reliable and fun end-user experience for their website’s young audience."

Read the rest of this entry »

Content delivery networking challenger Limelight Networks (LLNW: chart, news) reported its fourth quarter numbers after the bell.  Overall, revenues of $33.6M were roughly inline with expectations or perhaps a touch above, which extended their sequential growth following revenue pressure during the height of last year’s fiscal crisis.  EBITDA of $3.3M and adjusted EPS of -$0.04 were a bit light due to higher costs.  Higher cost of service came from network expansion activities, while there were also one time costs for their M&A activity and some extra bad debt expense.

READ MORE >> Limelight Turns In Steady Q4 | Telecom Ramblings

Feb 25, 2010 (TELECOMWORLDWIRE via COMTEX) —

Provider of fibre-based communications services Level 3 Communications Inc (Nasdaq: LVLT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) said today is working with France Televisions to help deliver the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in high definition (HD) to online and mobile audiences, from 12 February 2010 to 28 February 2010. Financial details were not available.

France Televisions is delivering the Winter Games live to the Web and Apple iPhone during the two-week event from 19:00 PST until 06:00 PST and also providing on-demand content at all other hours.

Level 3 said that this content delivery is made possible with its content delivery network (CDN) and Live Event services, alongside Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Live Smooth Streaming and Microsoft Silverlight.

IIS Smooth Streaming is reportedly designed to help improve the quality of an online video stream by minimizing broadcast disruptions through varying the quality of the delivery in real time, based on the available bandwidth of a given computer.

In addition to delivering the Games to online users, Level 3’s CDN platform allows the company to easily direct the same video content to mobile users.

Level 3 helps France Televisions deliver Vancouver Games in HD | TradingMarkets.com

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – February 23, 2009 – NetEx, the leader in WAN optimization software, today announced that its award-winning HyperIP® software-only WAN optimizer is the only product on the market that is primed for the intersection of two critical IT trends – virtualization and cloud storage/computing – enabling an unmatched flexibility for enterprises to quickly and easily migrate, replicate backup and recover cloud-based data wherever it is deployed around the world.

NetEx released HyperIP for VMware to take advantage of the server and infrastructure consolidation benefits of VMware, including the new VMware vSphere 4, with its cloud-specific features, enabling large enterprises as well as SMBs and SMEs to build private clouds on top of their VMware virtualized infrastructures. HyperIP accelerates a wide range of VMware data migration functions across WANs, including VMotion and Storage VMotion, vCenter Site Recovery Manager and vCenter Converter to optimize the migration of physical-to-virtual images. In recent validation testing DeepStorage Labs found that using HyperIP can accelerate VMotion migration of virtual machines by 1,000 percent, exceeding the performance specifications from NetEx.

Infrastructure virtualization has become a key enabling technology for cloud-based applications as more enterprises seek to lower their IT costs by moving their infrastructures to computing and storage clouds for on-demand services. With an increasing amount of IT services being deployed from a variety of clouds, some experts see the economic appeal of cloud computing and cloud storage to be part of a larger overall trend toward the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) with all IT services delivered as on-demand utilities. NetEx is already prepared for this trend with its HyperIP software, a solution designed to increase transfer application efficiencies and to overcome the costs or bandwidth limitations of replicating, migrating and recovering data from cloud storage sites. HyperIP is an indispensable software transport application for any enterprise that is using cloud storage but cannot afford extended downtime to restore remote files after a local failure. HyperIP eliminates this issue by enabling enterprises to move or replicate vast amounts of critical information using their common Ethernet and TCP/IP networks. In addition, NetEx is the only WAN optimization vendor that offers high-speed Recovery on Demand technology following a data disaster.

With the HyperIP Recovery on Demand feature, NetEx gives customers access to wide open performance keys to speed data recovery operations from the cloud when a disaster hits. NetEx sells HyperIP solutions in a variety of scalable configurations with data rates ranging from 1.5 Mb/s up to 800 Mb/s. Under the Recovery on Demand program the company provides customers with a free software key with unlimited bandwidth (full open keys) for 10 days or until they have recovered completely.

“It’s no secret that cloud computing and cloud storage will be the cornerstones of the virtual data center of the future, but there still needs to be a viable and economical method to migrate, deploy and recover the vast amounts of data that are being virtualized and stored in cloud sites around the globe,” said Robert MacIntyre, NetEx Vice President of Business Development and Marketing. “NetEx recognized these trends early on and we are now ideally positioned with HyperIP as the premier optimization solution for moving large data sets across WANs securely, swiftly and seamlessly. It is just not feasible to provide these types of on demand (cloud) services with hardware-based optimization solutions. The hardware based WAN optimizers simply cannot meet these levels of scalability required for cloud DR services. Fork lift upgrades are non starters.”

Read the rest of this entry »