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Everything You Need To Know About

CDN Load Balancing
One Size Fits All? Not Really
Failures among
By definition, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) is:
the dozen or so
an interconnected system of computers on the Internet that provides web content largest providers
rapidly to numerous users by duplicating the content on multiple servers and directing have cost
the content to users based on proximity.
businesses close
Companies have learned over the years that relying on one of anything can be problematic and CDNs are no to $75 million USD.
exception. Since 2007, it’s estimated that network failures among the dozen or so largest providers have cost
businesses close to $75 million USD. You should also note that’s just from a handful of providers and doesn’t figure
in “soft” costs like the damage done to customer relationships and the company’s reputation. The most recent
high-profile outage (Amazon Web Services during Christmas 2012) was due to a failure of Amazon’s load balancing
software, but the reasons for outages range all the way from incorrect software upgrades to lightning strikes.
For a midsize company with far fewer content requirements, it might seem like overkill to distribute cloud
services but no company is more vulnerable to outages than the midsize company. When the network goes
down, business comes to a standstill, revenue tanks, and customer goodwill evaporates. You may think that one
CDN may be sufficient for your business, but as the points below enumerate, the advantages of load balancing
between several CDNs can’t be denied. Thanks to managed DNS companies, the ability to load balance between
multiple CDNs is not only readily available, but affordable for midsized enterprises.

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The Benefits Of Load Balancing

Proximity-based Delivery
As the above definition mentioned, the CDN distributes and delivers web content based largely on proximity. But
what if the CDN itself has weak presence in a geographic area, and all of a sudden, demand accelerates from a
geographical area in which the CDN is weak?
For example, if an athletic shoe company introduces a model endorsed by Chinese-American NBA star Jeremy Lin,
they just might experience a huge uptick in volume from China (huge would be an understatement). If their CDN
is not equipped to handle it and their Chinese website crashes, by the time it’s back up, Lin may have sustained a
season-ending injury and killed demand. It could mean millions of dollars in lost sales, creation of ill will between
the company and its consumers, and executive heads rolling faster than those of the wives of Henry VIII. With the
right load balancing provider, the company could have distributed its CDN needs by geography, relying on an Asian
service to handle its Asian traffic.
Increased Redundancy
As numerous companies have discovered, when you rely on a Dyn’s Anycast Network and Regions
single content provider or delivery system, one malfunction
WEST

WEST
EAST

CENTRAL

ASIA-PAC
CENTRAL

EAST
in that provider’s load balancing system can shut down
your entire operation. However, if the work is distributed
among several CDNs, the chance of a total network outage Amsterdam Warsaw
is virtually non-existent. Load balancing that spans CDN
Seattle, WA Chicago, IL London
providers offers the highest level of redundancy and backup Newark, NJ
Frankfurt
Palo Alto, CA
capability possible; that means security and safety. Ashburn, VA Tokyo

Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Time Zone Balancing Dallas, TX Hong Kong
Mumbai
With a load balancing solution that spans several CDNs,
Current DNS PoP
performance can be optimized based on time of day. Peak Current DNS & Email PoP
Singapore

São Paulo
demand in one time zone may be the middle of the night in
another like a company with peak traffic at noon in LA load Sydney

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balancing to a server in India. With time zone based load balancing, a company’s website can always be utilizing
servers’ off hours, and thus avoid slow response times and Internet bottlenecks. Nothing causes consumer
dissatisfaction and discourages repeat website visits like slow performance.
Cost
Utilizing a multi-CDN distribution model can also have economic benefits. Companies can pick and choose from CNBC.com used
providers to find the one that offers the most cost effective solution for particular markets. Additionally, they Dyn to load balance
are not at the mercy of a single provider. Imagine if you, as a consumer, could use multiple cable or satellite
across multiple
providers for your home television. The companies would be forced to compete for sports, entertainment,
documentaries, and news programming, and the consumer would be able to pick and choose. For midsized global CDNs.
businesses, the cost difference can be critical.
Learn How »
Performance
Like cost efficiency, companies also have the option of choosing which CDNs offer the top performance in a
variety of areas. Again, the TV analogy applies. Cable provider X may have the latest and greatest 3D movie
capacity, while satellite provider Y might have the most high definition programming offerings. Wouldn’t a la
carte television be nice?
Scalability
The flexibility presented by using multiple CDNs also means greater scalability. Sudden exponential increases in
web content demand can be met by distributing the load for optimal load balancing rather than relying on one
provider’s capability to quickly ramp up. When demand suddenly multiplies, it presents the opportunity for a
business to thrive. If there is a system failure, it can cause an implosion.
Security
The ability to shut down content delivery from one CDN and plug in another cannot be underestimated from a
security standpoint. While not necessarily a panacea, localizing security breaches to the greatest extent possible
can be a life saver from a company that experiences a breach, hacker attack, virus, bug, etc. The same would
hold true for redundant backup capabilities. By not relying on a single CDN, your backup capabilities can
expand exponentially.

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Overall Optimization
This is the most important point of all. Whether a company is concerned with performance, scalability, security,
geography, cost or any other factor, employing a load balancing tool that spans across multiple CDNs is a way to
optimize a company’s web delivery. Optimal means the best possible and the best possible web content delivery
to your customers/audience means the best chance for your company to succeed, grow, and prosper.

The Moral Of The Story

Not all enterprises utilize CDNs. Those that do demand higher levels of performance, scalability and hassle-
free service. With today’s consumers being faced with more choices than ever, the ability to deliver a fast and
efficient web experience is becoming more and more critical to a company’s success and, perhaps, even its
survival. This is what CDNs provide. Relying on a single CDN has been commonplace and whenever vital Internet
capabilities are in the hands of one provider, the risks increase.
Internet performance optimization, whether in ecommerce, intra-corporation web services, social networking,
collaboration and/or however else the Internet is utilized, is an absolutely vital component in the success
of today’s enterprise. While the consumer is not interested in the technological reasons why one company’s
website is more efficient, faster, and more enjoyable to visit than its competitors, his or her web experience will
determine which of the vast array of competitors he or she will order from, post on, collaborate with, etc.
The business user, likewise, will base his or her evaluation of the work environment largely on the performance
of the network.

Want to optimize your website? Give us a call.

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dyn.com [email protected] +1 888 840 3258 150 Dow Street, Manchester, NH 03101 USA