BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : APRIL 3, 2000 ISSUE
BUSINESS WEEK E.BIZ -- UPSTARTS How Akamai Is Improving the Internet THE INTERNET BEFORE AKAMAI: Traditionally, the Internet has linked an individual directly with the servers of the Web site they are trying to reach. Old Way: When Joe Surfer in New Orleans types the address of Yahoo! into his computer, the request zips across the Net to Yahoo's servers in California. The content is delivered directly from Yahoo. But a site can get bogged down with too many visitors. And cross-country data lines can get congested. THE AKAMAI SOLUTION: To alleviate congestion, Akamai has placed more than 2,000 servers around the Internet that dish up the content of its customers. The New Way: 1. Surfer contacts Yahoo from New Orleans just like before. 2. After the site gets the same request a number of times, Akamai's technology quickly takes the content requested and distributes it to its servers around the Net. 3. When the next request comes in for that content--say, from Providence--the closest Akamai server delivers it, easing congestion and speeding delivery 2 to 10 times. 4. If Yahoo changes the content of a page, Akamai's network is alerted so it can redistribute the new material across its servers, keeping the data fresh. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Akamai: Speed Master TABLE: How Akamai Is Improving the Internet INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

Copyright 2000-2009, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use   Privacy Notice