More people across the globe are using the internet. Broadband speeds are rising. The consumption of online videos continues to spike. And that’s not to mention the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) and mobility, and the resulting bind most cable operators, telcos and more find themselves in these days.
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A recent white paper from EdgeConneX addresses this very issue, and poses a potential response, or answer to these concerns: Edge Data Centers, or EDCs.
Why? EdgeConneX breaks it down like this. The company asserts the use of localized Edge Data Centers rather than the standard large, centralized data centers if far-off locations, can greatly increase transport cost savings for CSPs. And in turn, they might just be able to improve the experience for end-users, as well.
The report, which offers use cases of such improvements, begins by citing the growing internet traffic congestion problem.
At the same time, cable operators are seeing their network transport costs grow exponentially, and they are simultaneously watching their cost per part or data pack decline.
But that said, as EdgeConneX points out, if they want to keep meeting growing customer expectations, they have “no choice but to carry the constantly heavier traffic load.”
For perspective, take a look at this stat: According to Cisco Systems’ latest Visual Networking Index forecast, global internet traffic will grow threefold from 2015 to 2020. Again, what’s primarily pushing this significant growth is one, yes increased usage; but secondly, the number of devices that people use to access the web continues to multiply. And the rise in broadband speeds almost across the board is also pushing higher traffic loads. Lastly, the “online video phenomenon,” as EdgeConneX puts it, has pushed this challenge to the brink for CSPs and other providers.
The new delivery model enables them to bring their content, services and apps much closer to their customers, resulting in content offloading.
It’s also difficult to have a conversation about challenges for CSPs without mentioning the recent net neutrality conundrum. Due to the strong net neutrality rules that the FCC adopted early last year, providers are more limited in their ability to use some of their traditional network management tools and procedures to ease the traffic loads on their architectures.
So, why move to the edge? According to the report, the new delivery model enables them to bring their content, services and apps much closer to their customers, resulting in content offloading.
“Unike the massive, centralized data centers located in a dozen major metro areas in the U.S., local EDCs are typically somewhat smaller, neutral facilities and are popping up in smaller, Tier 2 or even Tier 3 markets to cater to a number of providers,” the report states.
Ultimately, the new EdgeConneX report focuses on how the use of localized EDCs can produce transport cost savings, while also improving the experience for end-users — and adresses whether getting close to the edge can really “make the difference.”
The new report from EdgeConneX covers:
- Battling the traffic bottlenecks
- The growing traffic congestion problem
- The net neutrality conundrum
- Going to the edge: localizing traffic management and content offloading
Download the new report, “Making the Case for Edge Data Centers,” courtesy of EdgeConneX.