A content delivery network (CDN) is a group of servers strategically located in a geographical area for delivering digital media to end users, also known as a “content distribution network.”.
CDNs can be used to deliver real-time streams and other types of digital media, and are typically built from collections of data centers distributed around the world. Each server is carefully arranged so that signal transmission can be quickly and easily transmitted from one site to the next, with the lowest possible delay to reach viewers. The location of the server is called a node, or PoP. Although traditional CDNs use physical servers, some CDN providers use a fully digitized approach and instead use computer networks. These are called edge servers.
The purpose of real-time streaming CDN is to shorten the length of video that must be transmitted to maintain quality and reduce buffering. For example, streaming video from Beijing to viewers in Shenzhen is a bit far away. However, through strategically placed servers, video can be transmitted through data centers in Huizhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Foshan. The distance between each server is shorter, making it easier to maintain quality when the signal jumps from one location to the next.
What is Convergence CDN?
Convergence CDN is a strategy that combines the resources of multiple CDN providers, with each provider’s resources pooled into a single network for easier access by users. No CDN has universal coverage, so combining the resources of multiple providers can enable reliable delivery of broader coverage. Using a converged CDN architecture can also significantly increase your PoP. The greater the coverage, the more your content can cover new locations, and it can also help provide backup support in the event of server congestion or failure on the primary provider.
Why use a converged CDN architecture?
Integrating CDN architecture is an excellent tool for improving user experience. Integrating CDN can elevate user experience to a new level. Let’s take a look at some benefits of integrating CDN strategies:
Improve content delivery quality
Using more PoPs makes it easier to maintain the quality of content transmission because signals do not have to travel over long distances, which helps maintain optimal results and reduces buffering and latency. These improvements are particularly valuable for website types that require access speed and real-time feedback.
Reliable delivery adds backup options
“For events such as streaming media or interactive live streaming, especially those where viewers pay for it, you need to maximize the reliability of your playback.”. When you configure a converged CDN, if a CDN encounters congestion, disruption, or network crash, you have a backup option to ensure real-time live streaming.
Expand node coverage
By using a converged CDN, you can unlock the potential of accessing servers in new locations. For example, most of the servers of a CDN manufacturer may be concentrated in East and Southeast Asia, while the servers of another CDN may be distributed in Europe and Asia. By combining the two, you can cover more users in more countries/regions.
Increase scalable capacity
Convergence CDN provides scalable support for streaming to a growing audience. And the converged CDN architecture provides access to more servers than a single CDN provider, which to some extent increases the user traffic that can be accommodated. With more servers, content delivery can be affordable to more users without causing the network to suffer.
Global access needs
If your audience is globally distributed, using a converged CDN strategy is definitely the best option. Because even mainstream vendors have very different global node coverage priorities, adopting a converged CDN strategy will allow more servers in more countries/regions to help you attract more visitors.
Greater security
Another major benefit of using converged CDN is that it can enhance the security of customer content. If a CDN provider has a security vulnerability, the standby CDN provider can start and continue secure transmission.
No supplier lock
For some enterprises, being locked in by suppliers is a very realistic issue. Especially when the loyalty of a particular supplier changes in the future. If you build a system around a vendor and are bound to it, it can be difficult to end the partnership and continue to the next one, as your operations depend on them. Using a converged CDN helps avoid vendor lockdown because you have multiple vendor options for from the beginning.
How to choose a fusion CDN manufacturer?
If you want to implement a converged CDN strategy yourself, you need too much program development costs, and you also need to establish partnerships with multiple CDN providers. This cooperation model takes too long and costs too much.
Therefore, it is usually the best choice to directly choose a company that provides integrated CDN services. Shenzhen Transmit Gate Technology Co., Ltd., founded in August 2014, has obtained a domestic value-added telecommunications business license. The company adheres to the development path of technological innovation, and its core technologies are all self-developed. It is a professional edge computing and integrated CDN service provider in China. The company’s main businesses include integrated CDN services, game shields, server rental, and so on.
At present, a global intelligent converged CDN network has been established to provide customers with comprehensive solutions integrating edge computing, edge storage, converged CDN and security protection. The company’s Huosan Cloud Convergence CDN has currently integrated multiple leading CDN manufacturers: Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Netsu Cloud, Amazon Cloud, Baishan Cloud, etc. In the future, we will continue to integrate more and more well-known manufacturers at home and abroad to provide users with more secure and stable CDN node services. Fire Umbrella Cloud Convergence CDN is one of the few truly integrated CDN platforms in China that achieve real-time monitoring, intelligent positioning analysis, and intelligent scheduling decision-making. It is also the first enterprise in China to focus on providing global integrated CDN acceleration services for domestic offshore business.