Apple's content delivery network is now live in the US and Europe, reports analyst Dan Rayburn of Frost & Sullivan (Via ArsTechnica). The CDN may deliver multiple terabits of data per second, allowing Apple to more efficiently to distribute software updates and other content to its customers.
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Apple's CDN apparently went live recently as current trace routes provided by Rayburn show that OS X downloads are piped directly from Apple to internet service providers, such as Comcast. Apple is paying for this direct route in order to avoid congestion and other issues during times of high volume traffic, such as when a new version of OS X is released. Other providers who possibly have negotiated these interconnect deals with Apple are rumored to include AT&T and Verizon, both of which have similar contracts with Netflix.
Apple has not publicly commented on its CDN plans, but the company is expected to use the network to deliver iOS and OS X downloads, while gradually transitioning its iTunes and App Store away from Akamai and other Level 3 CDNs.
"It’s too early to know how much traffic will come over and when, but Apple’s already started using their own CDN much faster than I expected. The pace of their build out and amount of money they are spending on infrastructure is incredible. Based on my calculations, Apple has already put in place multiple terabits per second of capacity and by the end of this year, will have invested well more than $100M in their CDN build out."
Apple allegedly has been working on building this content delivery network for several years, with a rapid acceleration in the past year to bring the service online. The rollout of this network brings content delivery under Apple's direct control, helping to ensure its customers can access data reliably and quickly.
Top Rated Comments
Way to totally miss the point.
Net Neutrality is about not putting artificial barriers between things for the sole purpose of billing them more money.
This article is about removing real-world, physical barriers and improving performance by becoming more efficient.
It boggles my mind that people apparently think net neutrality means you're not allowed to improve a network or upgrade a computer or expand a server farm. That you have to just sit still and not change anything just to be "fair" to people with slower systems. Is this why some people oppose NN? They believe it means those things?
Seriously. Why spend all that effort making bigger pipes when they could have just used the existing pipes better. Why must every Apple device in my house download every patch or app itself when those exact bits are already on a device in my house. Nothing could ever be faster, not to mention more bandwidth cap friendly, than simply sharing the bits from one local device to another over the LAN.
Large corporations paying for connections smaller businesses and startups could never afford in order to keep the dominance they already have by preventing fair competition.
Do I fear this in regards to Apple? Not particularly, but I see this being used in far worse situations that in the end will only hurt the consumer with less competition and higher pricing.