By: Gil Mayrand, Ramp Director of Partner Enablement and Solutions Architect
In recent blog posts, our partners at Ramp, who specialize in video caching and multicast, addressed Creating a Stable Enterprise Video Network and introduced you to multicast eCDN. Today, Gil Mayrand, Director of Partner Enablement and Solutions Architect at Ramp, explains how video caching works, the use cases where it is most beneficial, and provides an overview of Ramp OmniCache.
Caching Defined
When the first user requests data—such as images, files, or web objects—the cache stores the data for future requests. By doing so, the data is delivered more quickly and efficiently to the next user who requests the data. At Ramp, we’ve applied this same concept to enterprise video streaming.
How Video Caching works
Benefits of a Video Caching eCDN
- Works equally well for both live streaming and video on demand
- Does not require any client software or plugins
- Supports any device that can stream video from the original source—including mobile devices
- Easy to start with a small deployment and scale as needs grow
- Software-based solutions deploy on existing infrastructure for a low cost of entry
- Ability to pre-position on-demand content at the cache to safeguard network performance
When to Use a Video Caching eCDN
As previously mentioned, a video caching eCDN is ideal if you are streaming both live webcasts and on-demand video. And like P2P (peer-to-peer), caching doesn’t require a client to be installed on viewing devices. Any device with an HTML5 browser is supported, including smartphones and tablets.
It is also a good solution if you require employees to use a VPN while working away from the office. In this scenario, only the caches would request videos directly from your streaming platform in the cloud, and viewers will retrieve it from the cache over VPN. This keeps video streaming from passing in and out of your network twice, which reduces traffic on the corporate network and avoids VPN hairpinning.
Video Cache and Peer-to-Peer
Since every network is unique and may have a different topology from location to location, you may need to use more than one type of eCDN. The three main types of eCDNs are video cache, multicast, and P2P. Each has its own relative strengths and weaknesses. To learn more about each type of eCDN, read Ramp’s Guide to Selecting the Right eCDN Technology.
In locations where you have large numbers of employees, you could use a video cache (or, if you have a multicast-enabled network, a multicast eCDN). Then, in locations where you have limited infrastructure, you can utilize P2P technology like StriveCast eCDN.
StriveCast’s P2P eCDN uses WebRTC to create a network between end-user devices accessing the same video. When a viewer requests video content, the system first checks to see if it is available from peers on the network. If so, it pulls the video from the peer instead of retrieving it from the video source. If it doesn’t, it retrieves it directly from the video source.
Using a combination of eCDN solutions is a common approach because it allows you to efficiently stream video to all viewers regardless of their location.
Ramp OmniCache
Ramp OmniCache is an intelligent video caching eCDN that replaces expensive infrastructure upgrades with a lower cost, flexible solution. This lightweight, software-only solution runs on your existing hardware and supports virtually any streaming video source and player technology on any device.
OmniCache gives you total control over your eCDN environment. It’s deployed and managed 100% behind your firewall with built-in security to prevent unauthorized access to your videos. You can also pre-position videos during times of low network activity to avoid spikes in bandwidth during large-scale VOD events such as pre-recorded executive messages or required trainings. To learn more about Ramp OmniCache, read the OmniCache Solution Brief.
About Ramp
Ramp is focused on helping every organization tap into the power of live and on-demand streaming video. Our enterprise content delivery network (eCDN) solutions drastically reduce the bandwidth needed to stream uninterrupted, high-quality video on corporate networks. Using multicasting, video caching, peer-to-peer networking, or any combination, Ramp is the eCDN for all—all enterprises, all networks, all use cases, and all streaming platforms. Visit rampecdn.com for more information.