Published by Nick Dunkin, Vecima Content Delivery & Storage.

Multi-tenant content delivery networks (CDNs) are a cost-effective solution for network operators and content providers to improve subscriber experience. They eliminate network bottlenecks for fast and reliable content delivery while reducing costs through shared resources.

What is multi-tenancy?

A multi-tenant CDN is one in which multiple distinct user groups (tenants) share a common infrastructure. The groups, however, aren’t aware of one another. It appears as if each tenant has sole access to an application. Their data and activities are kept separate.  Multi-tenant architectures offer efficiencies, because tenants share core components of the infrastructure (storage, monitoring, security, etc.), without requiring an entire application stack.

What are the benefits of multi-tenancy?

• Reduces costs: It’s more economical than a single-tenant architecture because tenants share resources.
• Optimizes network resources: Tenants use different amount of resources at different times, so usage capacity is efficient. In addition, the primary owner/administrator can offer spare capacity for a usage fee. The owner/administrator can then create additional capacity as a revenue source.
• Improves user experience: Subscribers can enjoy faster streaming and downloads.

What is Open Caching and how does it affect CDNs?

Open Caching is a next-generation streaming architecture that the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA) developed to address bottlenecks in streaming media and other online content. It places caches in service provider networks through open APIs that form a global CDN. This means the owner of an existing internet cache can “open” up access to that cache, allowing other CDNs and content providers to use it for caching the content they provide.

Providing caches that are geographically close to subscribers is one way to dramatically improve their video experience. As defined by the SVTA’s specification, the caches within an open caching system are implicitly multi-tenant in nature. A cache must be able to be configured for, and isolated to, any configured upstream content provider or CDN. An open caching system offers the same benefits found in any multi-tenant architecture.

Open CDN – Vecima’s Multi-Tenant Open Caching System

Vecima’s Open CDN solution combines the class-leading capabilities of its IP Edge Cache, with the open standards of an SVTA compliant multi-tenant Open Caching system. A service provider that deploys a Vecima Open CDN cluster into their data center is deploying an Open Caching capable, multi-tenant CDN that can not only deliver first-party content but can also deliver multi-tenant video for an arbitrary number of third party CDNs and content providers.

The inherent multi-tenancy of the Vecima Open CDN solution gives service providers the efficiencies of a multi-tenant deployment. It also allows them to drive revenue through unutilized network resource with the power of Open Caching.

In summary:

Service provider benefits of Multi-Tenant Open CDN

·      Generate revenue with spare CDN capacity by offering caching functionality to multiple upstream content partners.

·      Improve quality of experience for subscribers as you bring content from multiple upstream content partners into your last-mile network.

·      Reduce congestion in your upstream network.

Content provider benefits of Multi-Tenant Open CDN

·      Improve subscriber experience because you deliver your content from last-mile networks.

·      Embrace a more cost-effective path to get your content to its destination.

·      Scale effectively through access to multiple multi-tenant CDN locations.