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Netflix's Open Connect Appliances

gizmodo.com

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Re: Netflix's Open Connect Appliances

#5

Post by Thaxll »

Lot of mistakes in this article, afair it can't hold all the movies but just the most popular. http://oc.nflxvideo.net/docs/OpenConnect-Deployment-Guide.pd...

" Each appliance stores a portion of the catalog, which in general is less than the complete content library for a given region. Popularity changes, new titles being added to the service, and re- encoded movies are all part of the up to 7.5TB of nightly updates each cache must download to remain current. We recommend setting up a download window during off-peak hours when there is sufficient free capacity."

Re: Netflix's Open Connect Appliances

#6

Post by pessimizer »

Thaxll wrote: post #5

Lot of mistakes in this article, afair it can't hold all the movies but just the most popular. http://oc.nflxvideo.net/docs/OpenConnect-Deployment-Guide.pd... " Each appliance stores a portion of the catalog, which in general is less than the complete content library for a given region. Popularity changes, new titles being added to the service, and re- encoded movies are all part of the up to 7.5TB of nightly updates…

"But wait, you say. That'd be all fine and dandy if Netflix was etched in stone, but it's not! They add and remove stuff all the time! That's right, which is why most OCAs take a 7.5TB update. Every. Freaking. Day.

"If you had to take a 7.5TB update on your home internet, you would be screwed. According to Ookla's Net Index, the average download speed in the United States is 18.6Mbps. So with an average connection, that 7.5TB would take you about 40 days to chew through.

"Fortunately, data centers tend to have a little more speed to work with. A firehose, compared to your bendy straw. So Netflix recommends a much shorter 10-hour span (from 2AM to noon, local time) where these boxes can soak up their updates with 1.2Gbps connections. That is to say, 'Google Fiber speeds.'"

Source: TFA.

Re: Netflix's Open Connect Appliances

#7

Post by robotresearcher »

Thaxll wrote: post #5

Lot of mistakes in this article, afair it can't hold all the movies but just the most popular. http://oc.nflxvideo.net/docs/OpenConnect-Deployment-Guide.pd... " Each appliance stores a portion of the catalog, which in general is less than the complete content library for a given region. Popularity changes, new titles being added to the service, and re- encoded movies are all part of the up to 7.5TB of nightly updates…

Quote from the article:

"It's rarely—if ever—a full copy, but rather a massive chunk specifically designed for a specific country or region, depending on what's available and what's popular."

Re: Netflix's Open Connect Appliances

#8

Post by JTon »

Can anyone explain why an ISP would push back Netflix installing one of these boxes? Does the ISP want Netflix service congestion to better sell its own media assets/distribution (i.e. cable TV)?

Re: Netflix's Open Connect Appliances

#9

Post by tobz »

JTon wrote: post #8

Can anyone explain why an ISP would push back Netflix installing one of these boxes? Does the ISP want Netflix service congestion to better sell its own media assets/distribution (i.e. cable TV)?

Based on the blog posts by Level 3 -- how much internal capacity Comcast / Verizon say they have versus what Level 3 sees for utilization at their peering points with both ISPs -- I would have to assume "yes".

Re: Netflix's Open Connect Appliances

#10

Post by tonyb »

ceejayoz wrote: post #3
ubercore wrote: post #2

Interesting to see some more details on the appliances. Isn't the argument primarily about peering, not open connect appliances, though?

Installing these reduces the need for peering dramatically.

And the two are also not mutually exclusive. You can have an OpenConnect appliance that is populated via peering. Someone like Verizon/Comcast/etc could add OpenConnect appliances and then peer with a single 10Gbps link vs the multiple 10Gpbs transit links they are using now.
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