Understanding the Internet’s Hidden Infrastructure

Most people experience the Internet as a seamless service, but beneath that simplicity lies a multi-layered infrastructure made up of interconnected networks, routing policies, exchange points, and edge delivery platforms. These are the systems that keep global data flowing — reliably, efficiently, and at scale.

In our recent explainer video, we examine this invisible architecture by following the path of data from users to content providers and back again. The tutorial covers:

• The hierarchical structure of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and how they form transit chains by purchasing upstream connectivity
• The use of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) for settlement-free peering between networks, including the difference between public and private peering
• The infrastructure behind Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and the role of Netflix's Open Connect Appliances (OCAs)
• The emerging importance of Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) in localising compute and reducing backbone load

We also touch on real-world examples such as:

• Swisscom’s temporary standoff with Netflix in 2016, highlighting the commercial tensions in peering agreements
• The more recent regulatory intervention by ComCom, requiring Swisscom to establish zero-settlement peering with Init7

These cases demonstrate how infrastructure policy, competitive pressure, and traffic engineering come together to shape the performance and openness of the Internet.

Watch the video below to better understand the physical and logical structures that underpin our digital world:

Whether you're in network planning, architecture, or policy, this video offers a concise look at the building blocks that make the Internet work.

You can download the slides from here.

Related Posts: 

• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: 'Story of the Edge' by Akamai
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: The Role of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) in Making Sure Internet Works 

'Story of the Edge' by Akamai

People share some useful stuff on social networks that I bookmark to visit and write later. This was shared by John Francis Nolan nine months back or so. I have just managed to watch it and definitely worth a share here.

Prof. Ramesh K. Sitaraman is currently a Distinguished University Professor and the Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Teaching in the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  He is best known for pioneering content delivery networks (CDNs) and edge computing services that currently deliver much of the world’s web, videos, edge applications, and online services. As a principal architect, he helped create the Akamai network, the world’s first major content delivery network (CDN) and edge computing service. He retains a part-time role as Akamai’s Chief Consulting Scientist. 

Late last year he delivered a talk 'Living on the Edge for a Quarter Century: An Akamai Retrospective' on The Networking Channel. The following is the abstract of the talk:

As Akamai and the creation of the “edge” turn 25, we look back at the key role that the edge has played in the evolution of internet services. The story of the edge starts in the late 1990s when servers were deployed worldwide to provide content delivery services for web pages and videos. The quest to move dynamic content and application logic closer to users created the first edge computing services a few years later. The growth of the edge that now spans thousands of locations has dramatically increased the scope and importance of services that critically rely on it. This has created new challenges in operating the edge at scale and securing it from sophisticated attacks. Further, as the carbon footprint of the edge grows rapidly, reimagining a sustainable “zero-carbon” edge that is powered by renewable energy poses a key direction for future research.

His talk is embedded below and the PDF copy of his presentation is available here.

You can view the author's publication page here.

Related Posts: 

• The 3G4G Blog - Webinar: Where Edge Meets Cloud by Dean Bubley
• The 3G4G Blog: Transitioning from Cloud-native to Edge-Native Infrastructure
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Operator Cloud Infrastructure and Innovation Strategy
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: ZTE explains 5G CDN in a new White Paper
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: AWS Edge to Power Private Networks and Industry 4.0
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: The Provider (Telecom, Cloud) and User Open Edge: Innovation with No Vendor Lock-in
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Building the telco edge with or without hyperscalers! 

ZTE explains 5G CDN in a new White Paper

ZTE recently released a new whitepaper analyzing in detail the challenges confronted by content delivery network (CDN) in the 5G era. it also proposes architecture and technology trends suitable for the evolution of CDN to content edge clouds. Finally, the WP shares deployment cases of actual applications.

The announcement states:

With 5G entering into an era where video "reigns supreme", the video demand of individual users continues to rise, and that of businesses has also shown explosive growth in the context of the pandemic, such as interactive live broadcasting, online education, and cloud gaming. Immersive experiences including high-definition channels, VR/AR and 8K+ ultra-high-definition services have witnessed rapid development. Enterprise users are accelerating their digital transformation, and video digital applications like video conferencing, video surveillance, live broadcast of venues and telemedicine are becoming increasingly popular. Various video services require the networks to have stronger distribution timeliness, lower service delay and greater bandwidth.

Based on a lightweight vCDN, ZTE's 5G CDN solution provides nearby access, automatic scaling and rapid deployment while realizing resource sharing and reducing backbone network traffic. Relying on the cloud platform, the solution enhances the video processing capabilities with the cloud transcoding function. It also enriches the video PaaS capability components, providing a foundation for the opening of platform capabilities.

With security being as fundamental guarantee, the 5G CDN solution constructs a dynamic security protection system with infrastructure security, content security, service security and data security as the core to ensure the efficient and safe operation of CDN.

ZTE has utilized the 5G CDN solution in various industries including entertainment, culture, education, games, sports and more. In the entertainment field, ZTE and China Mobile have completed the trial commercial use of 5G MEC-based 8K VR services, bringing users a brand-new immersive audio-visual experience. 

In the education field, through the integration of interactive live broadcast, business management and other video platform capabilities, ZTE has created for customers the Online education SaaS business featuring multiple teaching scenarios and terminals under the condition of different types and multiple networks, while employing ZTE Wi-Fi6 routers, smart education set-top boxes, smart screen speakers, 5G mobile phones and other terminals to carry the online education services. 

In the gaming field, ZTE 5G CDN provides efficient and secure transmission guarantee for cloud gaming services, and it has been commercialized in China Telecom’s networks. In the field of cultural tourism, relying on its powerful media processing capabilities, ZTE’s 5G CDN is able to help present high-definition live content of scenic spots, thereby allowing China Mobile's customers to enjoy the scenic spots in Shaanxi on the cloud. 

In the sports industry, by virtue of the powerful rendering and distribution capabilities, with 5G CDN, ZTE and China Unicom have jointly realized free viewpoint 4K live broadcast service featuring the industry's lowest latency in the "Meeting Beijing" ice event speed skating test competition in April 2021. The measured end-to-end delay is as low as 0.3 seconds, delivering the ultimate smart game watching experience to the audience.

As one of the largest CDN network solution providers, ZTE, backed up with its profound accumulation of ultra-high-definition video technology and 5G communication technology, will keep focusing on customer demand, innovative technologies and optimizing experience, so as to provide a better video service experience and assist operators in laying out 5G vertical industry applications.

The whitepaper is available here.

Related Posts:

• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: ZTE's PAD and iMacro gets 5G Upgrade
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: QCell - ZTE’s 5G Solution for Gigabit Indoor User Experience
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: ZTE 'Unisite+' helps accelerate co-site deployment of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G with fewer devices
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: ZTE's 4G / 5G Street Lights 
• The 3G4G Blog: Real-life 5G Use Cases for Verticals from China