Distributed Content in the Network: A Backbone View William Maggs Internet Architecture and Engineering MCI Worldcom billm@mci.net This talk: http://www.vbns.net/billm/nanog14.html

Why Not Cache Because No Future for Static Content (40-55% dynamic) “Content Providers don’t care about cacheability” Against Internet “model” No application servers in my POPs! f Always easier to add BW Technology in search of solution By volume, much content will be static, popular Not true; and networks do more of their work Just another tool for traffic engineering Reliable content switching/routing (soon) Webtone, multimedia It’s something to sell New services, new services, new services 11/11/2018

Who Benefits? End Users - Latency, maybe Content Providers- Server load, availability, disaster recovery, performance to end users, slow network buildout, “local” markets, PR value, etc. Content Aggregators (Hosting Centers)- distribution of content, server load balance, new value-added services from content switching Regional Traffic Aggregators (ISPs, Cable Head Ends) - links to backbone, end user performance Global Traffic Aggregators (backbones)-system-wide benefits, scaling economies Biggest Single Benefit is to Content Provider; but Largest Total Benefit is to entity that aggregates both content and traffic, providing end-to-end service 11/11/2018

Where 11/11/2018 C Content Provider Hosting Center C Core/ Border Routers C C Core/ Core/ ISP/ Border Border Head Routers Routers End Wireless Network (content translation) C Core/ Border Routers C 11/11/2018

Browser (cache discovery) Content Provider C Core/ Border Routers C C Core/ Core/ ISP/ Border US Border Head Routers Routers End Browser-based proxy discovery WPAD and similar proposals provide for autodiscovery of caches potentially powerful service ISPs can use to keep their customers Transparent (to content provider) policy-based routing WCCP or similar solution for port redirection L4+ switching-within one hosting center (or across the WAN) C Core/ Border Routers C 11/11/2018

Transparent THEM US 11/11/2018 Content Provider Hosting Center C Core/ peer Border Routers C peer C Core/ Core/ ISP/ Border US Border Head Routers Routers End C Core/ Border Routers C 11/11/2018

Distributed Content Hosting A service for content providers, built on a content infrastructure for any of the network’s own customers with content to distribute no complaints; extends the relation between content provider and end user; pays for improved performance, resilience, reach of content distributed close to requests; simple to implement and manage Requirements: well-engineered big network good management of IP address space content engines well-placed in network, running a routing daemon such as gated script-based tools for management Routing does heavy lifting of getting requests to content collected in convenient places in network Infrastructure forms basis of many new content services 11/11/2018

How-Content Hosting THEM US 11/11/2018 166.5.20.8 166.5.20.8 foo.com Provider foo.com 166.5.20.8 166.5.20.8 foo.com THEM Hosting Center C Core/ peer Border 166.5.20.8 Routers 166.5.20.8 foo.com foo.com C peer C Core/ Core/ ISP/ Border US Border Head Routers Routers End C foo.com Core/ 166.5.20.8 Border Routers C foo.com 11/11/2018 166.5.20.8

What-Optimum Content Distribution Heterogeneous, Popular Content (Web)-pulled into caches Homogeneous, Popular Content (Seinfeld)-pushed via MFTP or similar mechanism “Hot Spot” Content Events (“cigar” incident)- network operators already doing metaMFTP 11/11/2018

Examples - Custom Content Advertiser wants to serve up content based on local markets Database runs behind Ad server with non-personal user info Today: http get goes to central location, returns a national ad database crunches user info, kicks off request to local content engines, which return local ads content engines filled by push Future: distributed database allows reverse proxy caching servers to receive routed requests allows content to be developed and maintained in local markets scales with distributed database performance to get ads in front of eyes as quickly as possible 11/11/2018

Examples - Active Content Large news content provider wants to distribute static elements of dynamic Web pages requests routed to content engine; .asps go to home server, everything else serviced locally home server redirects .asp static elements to distributed content engines content engines filled by caching supplemented by MFTP timeouts, delays may be dealt with by content engines 11/11/2018

Future Technology Future is more or less here: content engines, L4 switches, and of course “network events” new boxes: L4 switch running gated or better better caching server/routing daemon communications for failover appliances that the backbones will allow in their POPs 11/11/2018