the essense sounds a lot like rent-a-server:
FreeFlow delivers customers' Web pages via Akamai's
global network of distributed Web servers, which
currently number 300. Leighton claims FreeFlow
prevents Web sites from melting down under a barrage of
simultaneous requests for content, such as the Starr
Report. In fact, CNN says it plans to use FreeFlow for
just that reason.
The Akamai network determines where hits are coming
from and shifts copies of the pages being sought to
Akamai servers nearest the source of the demand. When
demand drops, the network cuts back on the number of
servers delivering that content. Customers don't have to
add hardware or change their Internet access to use the
service.
the full text (apologies for the justification):
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/1999/0115akamai.html
Akamai frees up your Web site
Distributed servers can prevent clogged sites.
By Tim Greene
Network World Fusion, 01/15/99
Cambridge, Mass. - When the "father of the Web"
speaks, people listen.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) math
professor Tom Leighton did, and now he's chief scientist
at Akamai Technologies, an ambitious start-up that
promises to make Web sites respond quickly, no matter
how many hits they get.
Three years ago, Web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee
mentioned to Leighton that somebody should figure out
how to distribute Web content on the Internet so it is
always available with minimal delay. Leighton, whose
MIT office is down the hall from Berners-Lee's, worked
on the problem with his technical team and then founded
Akamai last year to commercialize the technology.
Akamai, which is located at spartan offices across the
street from MIT and backed by $8 million in venture
funding, calls its debut service FreeFlow.
FreeFlow delivers customers' Web pages via Akamai's
global network of distributed Web servers, which
currently number 300. Leighton claims FreeFlow
prevents Web sites from melting down under a barrage of
simultaneous requests for content, such as the Starr
Report. In fact, CNN says it plans to use FreeFlow for
just that reason.
The Akamai network determines where hits are coming
from and shifts copies of the pages being sought to
Akamai servers nearest the source of the demand. When
demand drops, the network cuts back on the number of
servers delivering that content. Customers don't have to
add hardware or change their Internet access to use the
service.
With faster response times, Akamai customers will be
able to post more complex pages because they will not
have to worry about users getting frustrated while they
wait for downloads, according to Paul Sagan, Akamai's
chief operating officer. Sagan brings a wealth of Web
business expertise to the firm, having been responsible
for
Time, Inc.'s online activities, including its Pathfinder
Web
site.
When simply stated, FreeFlow sounds like a caching or
mirroring service, but Leighton says the offering is
different. Akamai's server network constantly monitors
Internet performance and shifting demand for content,
and responds by redistributing content accordingly, he
says.
That is done using server software based on a blend of
four families of algorithms: randomized, online, flow and
consistent hashing. The software runs on each server,
distributing intelligence around the network so
adjustments are made without intervention from a central
site, according to Leighton. If one server goes down, he
says, others become aware and pick up the slack.
In contrast, mirroring and caching are more or less static
technologies that can provide content from multiple sites,
but not necessarily closer to end users requesting
content. Spikes in demand can still overwhelm cached
and mirrored sites.
When Akamai starts beta tests of its service this quarter,
it will be several months behind Sandpiper Networks, its
chief rival in the specialized field. Sandpiper also
focuses
on Web publishers and companies interested in
transacting business over the Web.
Akamai's servers are actually installed at ISP and carrier
points of presence, including those at Exodus
Communications, Inc. Akamai has simulated peak
demand for the Starr Report and run it over the network
for weeks without encountering trouble, Leighton claims.
While FreeFlow deals with surges in demand, it also can
make downloads faster, because its network of servers is
closer to more users than a single server could be. As a
rule, Akamai delivers content so it has to make as few
router hops as possible. However, if the least-hop path is
congested, FreeFlow may serve over a longer route that
happens to be faster at that time.
With FreeFlow, customers also get to monitor, in real
time, where hits are coming from and which URLs are
being requested.
All a customer has to do to use FreeFlow is install
software that tags the Web pages the customer wants
Akamai's service to handle. This lets customers choose
which pages to turn over to FreeFlow and which ones to
handle directly from their own servers. This is valuable
to
e-commerce sites where customers might want to freely
distribute information about products but keep actual
transactions behind a corporate firewall, Sagan says.
Akamai uses off-the-shelf Intel-powered servers
running a customized version of Linux. The cost of one of
its servers is less than the $25,000 a typical Web server
would cost, Leighton says. Akamai declined to give
further details.
Akamai has not set its pricing, which will be based on use
and how much content customers want FreeFlow to
handle. Sagan says the price will be roughly comparable
to what it would cost to buy extra Internet access
bandwidth to speed up a Web site.
The company is accepting beta users now.
Akamai: (617) 250-3000