Why This Is the Most Important Metric When Choosing a CDN

Throughput defined: in communication networks, such as Ethernet or packet radio,throughput or network throughput is the rate of successful message delivery over acommunicationchannel. Tosimplify,throughputishowstrongorconsistenttheconnectionismaintainedduringthe session. Considerwater pipes in your home. Throughputwould be determinedby howstrongandsteadythewaterflowsaslongasyouhavethefaucetturnedon. Asweconsiderthroughputtocontentthatyouwilldelivertocustomers,forexamplevideoandgames, throughputaffects if thatvideoplayssmoothlyandat ahighbitrate,orwhetherthatgametakes40minutestodownloadorthreehours.

FOR GAMES...

Oneofthegreatesteventsingamercultureisabigblockbustermidnightlaunch.Whetherit’sforaconsole,aholidaysaleoraAAAtitlethere’snothingquitelikestandinginalinefulloflike-mindedpeoplediscussingyoursharedpassion. IfondlyrememberqueuingupattheUnionSquareGameStopinNewYorktobuytheNintendo3DSattheglobalreleaseeventin2011.Allofusstandingaroundforhoursplayinglocalmultiplayeronoursoon-to-bereplacedDSmachines,talkingaboutwhatlaunchgamesweweregoingtobuyandgenerallygettingeachotherexcitedaboutfinallygettingourhandsonthehardware. Asmykidshavegottenolder,though,I’vehadlesstimetobeabletoattendlaunchesinpersonandI’vegrowntoreallyappreciatetheavailabilityofdigitaldelivery.PullingdownTitanfalltoplayfromthecomfortofmycouchwhilemyfamilysleptmitigatedthelossofnotbeingabletoattendalaunchparty. WhatIdidn’twant,downloadingfromhome,wasawaitcomparabletotheoneoutsidethatGameStop.Thethingaboutlaunchlinesisthatthey’reFUNandthere’snothingfunaboutsittingbyyourselfwatchingprogressbarsfillonyourgamesystem. That’s why the critical factor for digital delivery is the speed at which you can putyourgame,completeandplayable,inthehandsofyourplayers.AsaCDN,wemeasurethatcapabilityinthroughputorthenumberofbitsdeliverableinagiventimeframe.

Inshort:throughputisthemetricthatmeasuresplayers’abilitytogetinandgetgaming.

CHOOSING A CDN

FOR MEDIA...

Thediversityandcapabilitiesofconnectedmediaplaybackdeviceshaveexplodedoverthepastfewyears,leadingtoanunprecedentederaofconsumeraccesstohighvaluecontent.Oneofthedriversbehindthisexpansionhasbeentheintelligencetostreamthebestqualitymediagiventhelimitationsoftheaccessmethod.Thatmeansthatauserconsumingvideoonanolderphone inanareawithpoorconnectivity isstilloftenable tohaveanadequateexperience,whichisarealtechnologicalmarvel. Fortheuser,though, it’sjustgoingtoseemlikeagrainy,stutteringvideo.That’swhycontent owners do everything they can to give a great experience rather than a merelyacceptableone.TodeliverHDcontentwithoutbufferinganddowngradingyouneedtomakesurethatyoursourceiswellconnectedandmaximizesresolutionandbitratetotheenduser,andthattranslatestothroughputasaCDNmetric. IfyouhaveahighthroughputconnectiondeliveredfromHighwindsCDN,youcancountonthebestpossiblepicturequalityforyourenduser,evenwhenthey’rewatchingpopularcontent during prime time on a consumer ISP.When you don’t have that superior level ofservice, your consumer could be stuck with halting, buffering or image degradation frombitratedownshifting.

FOR ADVERTISING...

AccordingtoBusinessInsider,“Videoadrevenuewillincreaseatathree-yearcompoundannualgrowthrate(CAGR)of19.5%through2016,”fasterthananyothermediumotherthanmobile.Notonly isvideo inventorygrowingdue to theboom inavailabledigitalmedia,butpremiumvideocontinuestocommandCPMsthataremanymultiplesofdisplayadvertising-ashighas$32.80perZenithOptimedia. Asahugeandgrowingsegmentoftotalspend,videoissomethingfewadvertiserscanaffordtoignore,andthemetriconmostoftheirmindsthesedaysis“viewability”.Ifyouradsaren’tseenbyendusersyou’renotreallybuildingvalueforyourbrands.Tomakesurethatyouradsareinfrontofyouraudienceandminimizebounceratesoncriticaltrafficyouwantthefastestavailableloadtimesandinvideothatisafunctionof--youguessedit--throughput!

CHOOSING A CDN

CHOOSING A CDN

Highwinds’highthroughputdeliverywillensurethatyoucangetyouradcreatives infront of actual, viewing users at a level of quality thatmatches your publishing partners’premiumvideoexperience.

MEASURING THROUGHPUT...

Sohopefullyyou’reconvincedthatthroughputisthemetricthatmattersforyouandyourcontent,butthatleavesyouwiththequestionofhowtomakesurethatyourCDNhasthebestthroughput.Theoldstandbymeasurementcompanies,thosethatyouwouldlookattogaugespeedandavailability,tendtobelocatedindatacentersclosetothemostrobustcentralconnectionsoftheinternetratherthanattheendpointsoftheconsumerISPswhereyourusersare.

CHOOSING A CDN

ToknowwhatkindofthroughputyourusersaregettingyouneedarealusermetricmeasuredontheclientsidelikethoseprovidedbyCedexis(seepreviouschart)ortodevelopyourownclientsidemethodology.Onceyou’vemeasuredthroughputinanactualproductionenvironment,you’llseewhyHighwindslegitimatelyisthefastestCDNontheplanet. WewouldlovetogetyoustartedonyourfreetrialofeithertheHighwinds’CDN or ourGDN™(GameDeliveryNetwork)todaysoyoucanseeandtesttheresultsforyourself.