Varnish Software, a provider of high-performance digital content distribution systems, today launched a new 5G-ready content delivery network (CDN). This reportedly enables customers to build new services that harness the power of 5G and mobile edge computing (MEC).
The new offering, Varnish Edge Cloud, is a carrier-grade, 5G-ready virtualised CDN and edge caching software solution that will help network operators transform their businesses, opening up new services and revenue streams, while handling more client requests with less infrastructure utilisation.
With 5G rollout accelerating across the globe, and operators faced with growing consumer appetites for high-fidelity video, user-generated content and new experiences like virtual reality, traditional content delivery networks will struggle to match 5G for speed and capacity. As third-party services running on telecommunications hardware, these CDNs also miss out on optimal resource utilisation. Network operators therefore have an opportunity to take control of content distribution on their networks and offer these 5G services themselves.
Key to making this level of control possible is the cache capacity of Varnish Edge Cloud nodes, which also scale on demand, whether deployed at the network edge in virtualised Points of Presence (PoPs), in aggregate data centres or between 5G base stations. This highly elastic, cloud-native technology can handle high density situations, such as those needed in stadiums and city centres, as well as demand spikes from live sports events, season finales and viral content. Indeed the solution is already being used by a major telecommunications service provider, preparing for exactly those eventualities.
Varnish Edge Cloud can be delivered as a fully managed software solution, where Varnish experts become an extension of the operator, designing and supporting a network unique to specific business needs. Varnish Software provides all the expertise, experience and resources required for deploying and running the 5G-ready vCDN, overcoming hurdles such as lack of in-house knowledge or timescale concerns.
“Varnish Edge Cloud is the next stage in the evolution of Varnish,” says Lars Larsson, CEO, Varnish Software. “As mobile devices come to dominate how content is accessed, and increasing levels of data processing occur at the network edge, the speed and latency of content delivery is more important than ever. Consumer expectations of 5G have been set high, but to make these a reality, operators are going to have to rethink how they architect their systems, and move storage and caching needs to take place at the outermost edge of the network.”
Espen Braastad, VP engineering, Varnish Software adds: “Varnish Edge Cloud enables our partners to deliver on the promise of 5G networks by matching the speed gains that 5G makes possible, while protecting the core network and origin servers from huge demand. This new solution not only helps organisations create new 5G-based services and revenue streams to future-proof their business and enhance their customers’ experience, but as a fully managed service, we can make it even easier to get started with their 5G journey.”
Varnish Edge Cloud enables high-performance content delivery in all conditions, with:
150Gbps throughput from a single node
- Submillisecond time-to-first-byte
100k concurrent users per node
Efficient storage and caching of 100TB of data on each node
High-speed TLS termination
Dynamic cache placement
24/7/365 support, monitoring, alerting, and incident response
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