2
High
Performer
SPRING
2022
WHITE PAPER
Multi-CDN:
6 cases when this
strategy benefits
enterprises
Competing in the global market, enterprises need 100% availability and
consistent performance of their web services. Multi-CDN strategy helps
to achieve this goal — it allows the use of several CDN providers
simultaneously and routes each region's traffic to a CDN with the best
performance. Let’s look at how this approach works, and the different
ways it benefits large-scale online businesses.
gcore.com
Contents
What is Multi-CDN? 3
How Multi-CDN helps global businesses 5
1. Improve your site or app performance 5
2. Use features from different CDNs 6
3. Expand coverage without risks 7
4. Lower costs 8
5. Get better service terms 9
6. Maintain accessibility even when a CDN experiences outages 10
Conclusion 11
About Gcore
2
What is Multi-CDN?
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a network of geographically distributed cache
servers that deliver site and app content. This technology benefits global large-scale
businesses, whose customers are located worldwide. A CDN provides equally high
performance for all users regardless of their distance to the server where the site or
app is hosted.
Multi-CDN is a combination of several CDNs from different providers. You split traffic
between providers’ networks: some users receive content from one CDN, and other
users from another. You can use two providers simultaneously or keep one of them as
a spare option, if or when the main provider experiences outages.
Single CDN Multi-CDN
CDN A CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 1
Multi-CDN uses a balancer tool to define which CDN should deliver content to a
specific group of users. It analyzes two types of data:
Real user metrics (RUM). These are based on millions of users’ interactions
with a website and helps to determine which CDN delivers content with the
lowest latency to a specific location at any point of time.
3
Synthetic uptime data. Extracted from detailed checks of every provider,
this data helps determine whether some nodes (CDN cache servers)
experience timeouts and latency.
After data processing, the balancing tool decides how to split customers’ requests
among CDN providers. Then the tool gives DNS providers the command to route
the traffic.
Application user
RUM and synthetic data
analityc tool
Primary DNS Secondary
Provider DNS Provider
CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 2
4
How Multi-CDN helps
global businesses
1. Improve your site or app performance
Challenge Solution
CDN provider performance varies from Multi-CDN allows using different
one region to another. It is caused by CDN providers in different regions. In
differences in the network quality of a specific location, the balancer tool
regional ISPs that the CDN collaborates directs traffic to the provider which
with. When using only one provider, your gives end-users the lowest latency.
site or app performance is entirely You have the best available
dependent on it and performance may performances in all regions.
vary in different locations.
Example
A global online store used one CDN. The provider demonstrated a good performance
level in all regions except one. In this region, customers constantly complained about
slow loading, which resulted in a high bounce rate and low conversion.
To solve the problem, the online store moved to the Multi-CDN strategy. The store
connected a CDN provider with excellent performance in the desired region.
Once the traffic from this region was balanced to the new CDN, users finally got
a fast load speed. Former complaints disappeared and conversion rates increased.
Single CDN Multi-CDN
CDN A CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 3
5
2. Use features from different CDNs
Challenge Solution
Businesses may have specific The Multi-CDN strategy allows you to
tasks that require additional CDN satisfy business demands requiring a
functionality beyond fast delivery.
specific feature. If at least one CDN
If your CDN provider doesn’t have provider supports the desired
a certain feature you may lose functionality, in most cases you can
potential clients. scale it across your entire business.
Example
An e-commerce marketplace needed to decrease the site page load speed. The site
contains many product images, so the marketplace decided to deliver pictures using
a compressed format, but one with no visible loss of quality. WebP compression was
suitable for this goal. Unfortunately, the CDN provider company used didn’t have
this feature.
The marketplace moved to the Multi-CDN approach. It connected an additional
provider with the WebP compression feature. Now, all images are delivered over the
second CDN, while other content delivery continues over the first. As a result, the
marketplace got image delivery accelerated and kept the habitual infrastructure of
the first CDN provider.
Single CDN Multi-CDN
WEBP WEBP WEBP WEBP
CDN A CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 4
6
3. Expand coverage without risks
Challenge Solution
When entering a new market, it’s Multi-CDN allows you to expand your
essential to provide new users with network coverage gradually. You can
good service performance. However, add new PoPs (Points of Presence)
your CDN provider may have poor from CDNs of different providers
coverage in the desired region. In this without risky movements.
case, new users will face high latency
and the first impression of the product
will be ruined. To avoid this you can
change the CDN provider — but doing
so carries a risk: if the new provider lets
you down, the investments in the new
partnership will be wasted.
Example
A cloud gaming vendor focused their business on European and Asian markets.
They had a long-term partnership with a reliable and cost-effective CDN provider
which worked in these regions.
The company decided to expand into the U.S. market, but the current provider had
poor coverage in this country. However, it was not a problem: the vendor moved to
a Multi-CDN solution. The company expanded its infrastructure by connecting a
new CDN provider with an outstanding performance record in the U.S. As a result,
the new market was entered without affecting the presence in Europe and Asia.
Single CDN Multi-CDN
CDN A CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 5
7
4. Lower costs
Challenge Solution
CDN provider service prices vary in With Multi-CDN you can combine
different regions. You may have different CDNs and route traffic to
affordable prices in some regions and the CDN that provides the lowest
expensive ones in others. When using cost in a specific region.
one provider you have to accept the fact
that you overpay for part of the traffic.
Example
A company worked with a CDN provider that had PoPs in Europe, America, and Asia.
In general, the prices weren’t high, but traffic in Asia was expensive. To reduce costs,
the company employed the Multi-CDN solution: connecting an additional provider
with a cheaper price in Asia. The company routed a significant part of
the traffic in the region to the new CDN, thereby decreasing total costs.
Single CDN Multi-CDN
$/TB
$$$/TB $$$/TB
$$/TB
$/TB
$$/TB
$$$/TB
$$/TB
$$$/TB
$/TB
$$$/TB $$/TB
$$$/TB
CDN A CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 6
8
5. Get better service terms
Challenge Solution
The longer you work with only one CDN With Multi-CDN, you have a portfolio
provider, the more you depend on its of different CDN providers. You can
terms. If they change for the worse you decide how much traffic to allocate
face a hard choice: to accept it and pay for each of them. When providers
more, or to quit and ruin your know that you have a range of
established working process. vendors they will compete for traffic
(and revenue) by offering better
terms.
Example
A CDN provider decided to start charging for its technical support. The majority
of the clients were forced to agree to these terms — they didn’t want to change
providers because it would affect their working processes.
However, one global company avoided extra expenses by using Multi-CDN with
several providers. The CDN provider took note: if technical support became paid for
this client, they may break the partnership. For a company with several providers in
its portfolio, it’s more profitable to refuse an expensive provider and give that traffic
to a cheaper one. So, the CDN decided to keep free support for this particular client
to retain the important partnership.
Single CDN Multi-CDN
$$ $ $ $
CDN A CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 7
9
6. Maintain accessibility even when a CDN
experiences outages
Challenge Solution
If a CDN provider experiences With the Multi-CDN strategy, you
problems on the network in a region, have redundant CDNs. If the main one
end-users located in or close to this experiences outages in a region, the
region face a decreased performance redundant CDN comes into play — it
of the service. temporarily substitutes for the main
one and delivers traffic instead. End-
users continue to get a good
experience using your services.
Example
A streaming service broadcasts a football match over two CDN providers. The first
CDN is the main one and delivers 80% of traffic, and the second one is redundant
— it serves 20%.
In the middle of the game, the first CDN performance in Europe decreased; its
European ISP had unexpected network issues. If the streaming service used only this
CDN, for users in Europe the broadcasting would be ruined — they would have high
latencies and intermittent playback. Fortunately, the service had Multi-CDN. Traffic
from the region was just routed to the second CDN, which remained safe and sound.
Switching was made quickly and seamlessly because cache servers on the second
CDN had been “warmed up” by processing 20% of the traffic. As a result, all users
finished watching the match without any issues.
Single CDN Multi-CDN
CDN A CDN A CDN B CDN C
Figure 8
10
Conclusion
The multi-CDN strategy can help you to:
& Improve site or app performance
& Use features of different CDNs
& Expand coverage without risks
& Lower costs on content delivery
& Get better service terms from CDN providers
& Maintain accessibility even when one of your CDN
providersexperiences outages.
This strategy is best suited for enterprises and global companies with a worldwide
audience and high rate of traffic. Each of the advantages presented above increases
its value on a large scale and in the long term.
Multi-CDN will work well if you have good CDN providers connected.
Here are some aspects we advise you to consider when selecting providers
for your portfolio:
& Number of PoPs in the locations you need
& Traffic price rates in the regions where you want to deliver content
& Additional features which can enhance your product propositions
& Support and engineering teams' responsiveness to immediately solve technical issues.
New vendors, products, and solutions are constantly emerging on the market.
Don’t be afraid to test and experiment with new providers — doing so will help you
to build sustainable infrastructure, which is the basis for successful global
business.
Gcore CDN is a next-generation content delivery network that helps you
accelerate the dynamic and static content of your websites or applications.
Our CDN has many built-in web security features and operates through a
rapidly growing infrastructure with over 140 points of presence worldwide.
11
2
High
Performer
SPRING
2022
About Gcore
Gcore is an international leader in public cloud and edge
computing, content delivery, hosting, and security solutions.
We manage a global infrastructure designed to provide
enterprise-level businesses with first-class edge and
cloud-based services.
sales@gcore.com
gcore.com
gcore.com
