Edgix Corp. is taking its broadband-based server technology and joining
with Inktomi Corp. in an agreement to collaborate on technology and
marketing developments, it was announced Wednesday.
The deal promises to give Internet service providers already using
Inktomi’s caching solution more room on networks that are being
increasingly filled with bandwidth-hogging content like video and streaming
media.
The deal is similar to Edgix’s deal Oct. 26 with Novell, Inc., to provide
Web content delivery services on Novell’s Internet caching system.
ISPs using edgeMedia to cache its content are guaranteed a 30 percent
network improvement with a unique service-level agreement that forces them
to put their money where their mouth is. If it doesn’t perform at that
level of performance, the ISP doesn’t pay, officials confirmed.
The service is run on Edgix’s Edge Delivery Platform, which deploys servers
made by Dell Corp. into the ISPs edge nodes. Edge nodes are described as
the connection point between the provider and the end user, usually a hub
for digital subscriber line service and the head end on cable networks.
Rangu Salgame, Edgix Corp. president and chief executive officer, said the
agreement validates his company’s position as an edge services provider.
“Our relationship with Inktomi, the market leader in Internet
infrastructure software, will dramatically increase Edgix’s service
footprint and secure our leadership in the ESP space,” Salgame said. “Our
service capabilities and Inktomi’s extensible software-based services
platform are a powerful combination for service providers looking to
fulfill their end users’ growing demand for rich media.”
Keynote, an e-commerce benchmarking company, came away impressed with the
Edgix product. It reported a 338 percent increase in download speeds when
using the edgeMedia service, a number reached by taking the average result
of the slowest five percent of download times.
The edgeMedia service has been on the market in Europe and North and South
America for nearly a month. In that time the company has secured contracts
with Everest Broadband Networks, a competitive local exchange carrier
specializing in multi-tenant buildings, and Chello, Europe and Latin
Americas largest cable provider.
