CDN Solutions for Streaming Live Video

By Max Wilbert | Posted on February 19, 2021May 28, 2024 by Max Wilbert | 9 min Read

Today, 79 percent of all global consumer web traffic comes from watching video online. There are two reasons for this. First, people spend one-third of their online activity time watching video. The second reason is that video is data-intensive. A single video stream can use more data than 10,000 pages of text. Because it’s so data-intensive, many broadcasters use CDN solutions for streaming live video.

A CDN, or Content Delivery Network, is a global network of servers designed to deliver content from publishers to viewers quickly and efficiently. This is ideal for video delivery, both video on demand and streaming live video.

This article will look at various CDN solutions. We’ll start with an overview of how these platforms work. Then, we’ll discuss how they specifically support high-volume streaming applications. We’ll review the benefits of using a CDN, then move to look at what the differences are between various common CDNs. Finally, we’ll share our favorite method for getting access to powerful live streaming CDN solutions at an affordable price.

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

CDN Solution for Video Streaming Delivery

As we’ve already said, a video streaming CDN solution is made up of a distributed network of servers. However, what is it that these servers actually do?

Basically, a CDN replicates content and delivers it to users using the server that is closest to them. For example, a large business creates a demo video broadcast for a product launch. This video is posted to their website product page, and distributed via their CDN partnership. Ten thousand people simultaneously visit the web page and access the video. Can your servers handle that much content—and can they deliver an optimal viewing experience?

A CDN can. The CDN reads these requests and caches the video on dozens or hundreds of servers. Then, it re-routes each user dynamically to the server that is closest to them. The bigger and stronger the network, the better result. All of this is done in real-time. The same basic principle is used for CDN delivery of streaming live video and other content, too.

Benefits of using a CDN solution

There are five main benefits of using a CDN.

1. Reduced latency

Latency is a measure of the time elapsed between an event occurring in real life, and a streaming video feed showing the event. Most live streams have a latency of roughly 10-30 seconds. By reducing the distance between the server and the viewer, CDN solutions can reduce video latency. This is especially important for sports, video games, and other rapid action streaming where a few seconds can make a huge difference.

2. Accommodate huge traffic spikes

What happens if your stream or video-on-demand goes viral, and a million people want to watch it? Are you prepared for that traffic spike? If you’re rolling your own live streaming server, the answer is almost certainly no. A CDN allows you to scale dynamically to reach any size audience by distributing the load across dozens or hundreds of servers globally.

3. Increased security

Some of the most common hacking attacks involve overloading servers with mindless requests. These “DDoS” attacks are simple and highly effective. However, they can be mitigated by using a CDN. Whenever servers are attacked, the content will simply be moved to another location. This is a big additional layer of security.

4. Better quality of experience

Quality matters for viewers. Sixty-three percent of 2017 live stream viewers cited buffering issues as the most serious issue they experience. That number is actually an increase from the previous year! This points to the fact that improving user experience needs to be a major priority for broadcasters. Using a high-quality CDN increases the quality of experience (QoE) by reducing buffering.

5. Reduce technical debt

As we’ve written before, running your own video servers is expensive. It requires investing in hardware, maintenance, and staff to monitor and upgrade equipment. This “technical debt” is a big reason why it’s better to simply use a CDN. Instead of maintaining all this infrastructure, you simply have to maintain a contract with a professional CDN solutions provider.

High Volume Streaming and OTT via CDN

For high-volume live streaming video, using CDN solutions is even more important. Delays and buffering issues are not acceptable for major businesses. Every one-second delay in page load time could lead to $1.6B in annual losses for major online merchants.

Major broadcasters expect audiences to easily reach 10,000+ simultaneous viewers for any digital video asset. This type of load is unsustainable using traditional in-house server arrangements. A CDN is the best solution for OTT video and other high-volume use-cases.

Top CDN Providers and Why They Matter

There are a variety of CDNs on the market today. Different CDN solutions focus on different segments of the market. For example, some CDNs focus on images, and others on static website content. Still, others focus on video, and others are all-purpose CDNs.

1. Microsoft Azure

100 percent uptime
30 PoP server locations worldwide
Can be expensive
Complex setup and management

2. Amazon CloudFront CDN

Affordable pricing
Very customizable
79 PoP locations across 49 countries
Not the fastest CDN

3. CloudFlare CDN

Simple pricing with a free tier for personal websites
Fast
Does not include live streaming functionality
Limited support for video-on-demand

4. Akamai CDN

Robust live streaming and video-on-demand functionality
Instant provisioning of live channels
More than 240,000 servers located in more than 130 countries
Delivers between 15 and 30 percent of all web traffic, globally

Comparing CDN Solutions vs. Online Video Platforms

AWS Cloudfront cdn content delivery network

An OVP is a dedicated tool for online video management, customization, and publishing. There is a variety of OVPs on the market today. Each provides a variety of tools that may provide analytics, monetization, API access, and more. Specifics will vary from platform to platform.

The main benefit of using an OVP is that you gain the use of a user-friendly platform for hosting and managing video content. Unlike a CDN, an OVP is specialized for video content. This often means that tools like a video player, paywall/monetization solutions, and detailed tutorials are available.

Using an OVP instead of a CDN sometimes allows you to gain access to a CDN as well. In this case, you get all the benefits of both.

How to get Access to Powerful CDN Solutions at an Affordable Price

Most OVPs use internal server networks to deliver video content. These networks can be robust but don’t have the same benefits as using CDN solutions.

However, some OVPs partner with a CDN directly. This means that you get access to all the benefits of an OVP and a CDN—without the drawbacks.

Here at Dacast, we partner with the Akamai CDN. This means that we can offer the speed and reliable delivery of Akamai’s CDN solutions alongside the comprehensive video tools and simplified pricing of the Dacast OVP. This is the best option for most businesses and organizations that need streaming live video and video-on-demand services.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has helped you understand how CDN solutions work and how to integrate them into your online video efforts. If you are not already working with a video streaming solution, you can start today with Dacast. We offer a free 14-day trial (no credit card required) so you can test out Dacast’s features and see if they work for you. Click here to sign up:

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For exclusive offers and regular live streaming tips, you’re welcome to join our LinkedIn group. Have further questions, thoughts, or feedback about this article? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and good luck with your events.

Max Wilbert

Max Wilbert is a passionate writer, live streaming practitioner, and has strong expertise in the video streaming industry.