A Different Approach to Content Delivery

By now, it’s well documented how content delivery networks (CDNs) like
the ones operated by Akamai Technologies and Cable & Wireless’ Digital Island can help improve the
reliability and performance of content-heavy Web sites. But that optimal
performance has only been accomplished on a proprietary network
infrastructure of servers on the so-called “edge” of the Internet. That is,
until now.

RouteScience on Monday claimed to be the first company to offer a product
that allowed an enterprise to update the Internet routing tables by
measuring the end-to-end application performance in real time and making
Internet routing decisions based on performance metrics and customer
preferences.

RouteScience said its PathControl is currently in field trials with key
enterprise customers including a large Web portal and several major
financial services institutions and will be available for volume shipments
in October 2001. Pricing ranges from $140,000 to $250,000 depending on the
device configuration.

The hardware device, which at the starting level includes a modular, 8U,
14-slot chassis and support for two ISP links, allows an organization to
make Internet routing decisions at its network edge instead of relying on
default Internet routing.

“This new category of products may change Internet routing from haphazard
guesswork with out-of-date protocols to informed decisions based on
real-time performance. This is one of the most exciting routing innovations
in the last five years,” TeleChoice President Christine Heckart said as a
testimonial to RouteScience’s announcement.

However, not everyone was so quick to play up the significance of
PathControl.

“I would hesitate to call it revolutionary,” said Michael Hoch, senior
analyst of Internet Infrastructure for Aberdeen Group.

Currently, Internet routing relies on a set of rules known as Border
Gateway Protocol (BGP) to determine the hopping structure of an outbound
Internet signal. But, the protocol doesn’t take into account past
performance, according to a RouteScience spokesman.

PathControl, in contrast, communicates with servers located on the edge
of the Internet using the same BGP rules but overwrites the protocol any
time the hops aren’t optimal. The end result is a more cost-effective use of
bandwidth and predictable Internet performance regardless of the amount of
congestion and delay in the Internet core. The organization, for example,
can then route traffic to the ISP links that actually deliver the best
end-to-end performance depending on the users specific needs.

But based on certain scenarios, RouteScience’s product is similar to the offerings
of CDN services like Akamai, which on Monday announced that more than 75
customers under recurring under contract to use its EdgeSuite solution.

“That’s where Akamai makes its money. As far as real-time network
traffic, that’s what Akamai does,” Aberdeen’s Hoch told InternetNews.com.
Additionally, Hoch explained that he has been briefed by many similar
performance-enhancement providers over the last few months.

“I’m not sure I would call it revolutionary. It’s an area that has gained
[renewed] attention,” the analyst said.

To be sure, RouteScience officials view the closed-network CDN solutions
as complementary to its PathControl product and don’t perceive Akamai as a
direct competitor.

We’re not competing with a content delivery network. For certain types of
content, it might be more efficient to use a CDN. But for others, it might
be more efficient to use PathControl,” RouteScience’s Rob Pursell said.

I don’t think they are competing [with Akamai] in any way,” Hoch
concurred.