The changing face of content delivery: implications for clients, content providers, and the network at large

Content distribution has become a leading factor driving Internet traffic growth. New technology--including Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)--has enabled content platforms such as YouTube and Netflix, which have grown to the point of hosting original content. Fixed network traffic in the United States alone will increase by 40% in 2013 to more than 60 exabytes; content is the fastest growing component with over two-thirds of total volume. Several related trends have caused tension between content distribution's key players: users, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and CDNs. I argue that each tension is caused by incomplete information exchange and that technical solutions for sharing information can alleviate the tension between them. Growth in remote DNS service use creates tension between users and CDNs. Users configure remote DNS services for their speed, reliability and security. However, remote DNS reduces the accuracy of CDNs' inferences about user location, resulting in lower CDN performance for users. I present an end-host solution that enables use of remote DNS services without an overall performance impact by providing the user's location to CDNs. Increasing CDN market diversity results in friction between CDNs and ISPs. CDNs seek to maximize the efficiency of their infrastructure through load balancing, resulting in users being served from a dynamic set of servers. However, CDNs do not share these decisions with ISPs, making it difficult for ISPs to plan for CDN traffic. Consequently, ISPs face higher overhead costs and traffic engineering challenges. I evaluate compromise solutions that provide ISPs with more predictable traffic without impacting users or CDNs. BitTorrent, the largest P2P content distribution system, causes stress between users and ISPs. Its diverse content and ease of use make it attractive, especially in developing regions where CDN-based content platforms are not as well established. However, its large fraction of cross-ISP traffic is disproportionately expensive for ISPs. Though systems exist to reduce the volume of cross-ISP traffic, their efficacy is limited because they are unable to find local copies of the content. I show how end-host modifications enable users to leverage the existing locality in the system and reduce ISPs' costs.