Riverbed, Joyent Partner to Create Cloud-Based Content Delivery Platform

A new partnership has resulted in the creation of a cloud-based content delivery platform. Joyent Inc., which specializes in public cloud infrastructure and big data analytics, has teamed up with Riverbed Technology, a provider of application performance solutions.

The companies have created the Riverbed Stingray & Joyent Content Delivery Cloud (CDC), uniting the Joyent cloud infrastructure with Riverbed’s Stingray Application Delivery Controller (ADC) software. The offering is designed to help customers take control of their video services content delivery as well as save money.

The new solution offers flexibility and control for content owners and their customers, without the need to invest in an expensive traditional content delivery network (CDN). In contrast to legacy CDN solutions, which use a global network of servers to deliver content, the new cloud-based offering uses public or private infrastructure and offers a private, CDN-like experience for content delivery.

Cloud-based CDNs are nothing new, with companies like Amazon, AT&T and CDN giant Akamai delivering solutions on a service basis. In fact, a recent report from ABI Research has Akamai dominating the CDN market by a landslide, with a 30-percent share of the market, representing $322 million in revenues in the first half of 2013. ABI estimates the total CDN market will reach a whopping $ 2.36 billion by the end of the year.

One of the main benefits of a cloud-based CDN is cost savings, since enterprises are typically spending millions for legacy solutions. And many feel they aren’t getting enough value for money spent, complaining of a lack of granular control for themselves and their customers. The Riverbed Stingray and Joyent CDC tries to rectify this by offering features like auto-scaling, content caching, bandwidth management, performance monitoring and content compression.

The solution also includes the Stingray Traffic Manager, which routes users’ requests based on parameters like geographic proximity and required response time, which may be set by the application owner. It also offers security via the Stingray Application Firewall, which handles application-level threat identification and mitigation, and optimized end-user content through the Stingray Aptimizer.