Saturday, August 16, 2008
FastSoft - Internap
There was also a small Internap mention:
>>One of my sources tells me that FastSoft is also working closely with Internap, a company that operates data centers and a CDN.
The CEO, Dr. Steven Low, is answering a couple of questions on the comments related to that article (and we suggest you read once more the whole story, available at this link):
>>
Steven Low said:SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. - Equinix coverage
| Rating and Price Target History (EQIX) | ||||||||
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| Our Ratings Approach | ||||||||
| SunTrust Robinson Humphrey assigns one of three ratings to stocks covered by our Research Department: BUY, NEUTRAL, REDUCE. |
Friday, August 15, 2008
BitGravity’s CDN to Provide HD Video to CollegeHumor
>>BitGravity will provide high-definition object and video delivery for CollegeHumor.com. BitGravity’s high-definition, fast-loading content delivery provides an unprecedented high-quality experience for CollegeHumor fans. In addition, BitGravity’s scalability and competitive pricing made it the first choice for CollegeHumor’s growing need for a new delivery network capable of supporting their galleries of images and videos.
BitGravity’s network is based on optimized routing methodology and network innovations and is over four times faster than other leading CDNs. It was purpose-built by seasoned technologists with extensive expertise in global technology infrastructures, systems engineering and application development, allowing maximum performance through a much smaller and more nimble network than typical CDNs.
more about Bit Gravity from Streaming Media:
BitGravity’s Philosophy: Take It Easy
>>“We’ve been running video delivery for Vimeo for a while now,” said Wu, of the higher-definition YouTube-like site. “We've been responsive for them and lived up to our billing, so they recommended us to a sister company – CollegeHumor – which is another highly visible proof point that shows we’re growing organically within our customer base.”
“CollegeHumor has a rapidly growing fan base,” said Ricky Van Veen, CEO of CollegeHumor. “BitGravity’s highly scalable platform is exactly what we needed to deliver the highest quality video and user experience.”
“We don't have a lot of customers asking for 720p,” he added during our interview. “For every 100 customers, one will ask for true HD quality.”
Wu says that BitGravity’s organic growth has taken time, but that the approach to the market as a communications company rather than a CDN is a better presentation to most carriers. He used Tata Communications as an example of a carrier they’re working with.
While mostly unknown in the U.S., Tata has over 300 sales people and a very aggressive reach beyond its native India.
“We sat down with carriers early on, and found that we were able to approach them from a communications company perspective,” said Wu. “Tata is one of those companies and they’re becoming a major channel for our sales efforts since carriers know they need to have a CDN strategy to flourish in an era where web video is fast becoming the primary data type on the net.”
Thursday, August 14, 2008
new Equinix CIO?
From the latest conference call (Seeking Alpha transcripts).
>>No excuses -- I will publish a "reflections" post before going back to work on the 25th...yes, it is true, I am going back to work on August 25th as the CIO for Equinix. I am looking forward to working for Equinix, and feel extremely rested after such a marvelous summer.
It looks like the name of the new CIO is Brian Lillie... but I haven't been able to dig further, although I found a former vice president, Management Information Systems, at Verisign with the same name...
I guess we'll soon know it... In bocca al lupo...
NaviSite Joins PCI Security Standards Council as Newest Participating Organization
>>NaviSite to Participate in Key Standards Setting Body Protecting Payment Cardholder Data
ANDOVER, MA--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug 14, 2008 -- NaviSite, Inc. (NAVI - News), a leading provider of enterprise hosting and application solutions, announced today that it has joined the PCI Security Standards Council as a new participating organization. As a Participating Organization, NaviSite will work with the Council to evolve the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) and other payment card data protection standards.
The PCI DSS, endorsed by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., requires merchants and service providers that store, process or transmit customer payment card data to adhere to information security controls and processes that ensure data integrity. More information on the Council and the standard can be found at www.pcisecuritystandards.org
Earnings Summary for Internet Infrastructure
Here's the highlights:
>>Takeaways:
- Colocation remains hot and seems likely to stay that way
- Telecoms with their own fiber seem insulated against the economy
- Stumbles seem to be situation-specific, if the economic tide is going out it is doing it slowly in this sector.
- The CDN sector is quite fluid right now, lots of jockeying for position.
Immersion Expands International Business
( SAN JOSE, Calif., Apr 16, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR), a leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Immersion Medical, Inc, filed a lawsuit for patent infringement in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Mentice AB, Mentice SA, Simbionix USA Corp., and Simbionix Ltd. The complaint alleges that each of the defendants infringe claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,106,301; 5,821,920; 6,323,837; and 5,844,392, which are owned by Immersion Medical, Inc. The complaint seeks damages and injunctive relief)
Appoints David Barkay Vice President and General Manager, International for its Medical Business
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR - News), the leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology (http://www.immersion.com/corporate/), announces its expansion of international presence with increased sales, marketing, and customer support operations for its medical business across Asia, Europe, and South America. Immersion Medical has hired medical simulation industry pioneer David Barkay to lead the global expansion and serve as vice president and general manager, International.
| Source: Immersion Corporation | ||||
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Immersion Medical’s medical and surgical simulators provide highly realistic environments for education and training of minimally invasive bronchial, cardiac, gastrointestinal, gynecological, and many other procedures. Use of minimally invasive procedures is increasing because they usually entail less trauma, pain, scarring, post-surgical complications, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery times for patients. A high degree of expertise is needed to perform the procedures, and surgical simulators have been found to deliver safe, efficient, and effective training outside of the operating theatre.
“Surgical simulation education and training has been my passion for many years,” said David Barkay. “My goal is to apply Immersion Medical simulators to improve patient care and safety all over the world. Our new international team will focus on developing relationships with healthcare institutions and medical associations as well as on establishing channels to provide excellent customer service and increased revenue growth in these vibrant and growing markets.”
David Barkay is well known for pioneering the use of surgical simulators for the medical community. He is the former president and CEO of Simbionix Corp., the parent of Simbionix Ltd., which he co-founded in 1997. Prior to Simbionix, Barkay was a director of international sales for Applitec Ltd., an Israeli-based start-up specializing in medical video imaging systems. Barkay also spent four years at Micro Tools (a division of ISCAR Ltd.), serving as marketing and sales manager of European countries, and before that he was an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces.
uWink products
uWink "No Touch" Interactive Digital Signage
A highly interactive, engaging digital signage system that allows patrons to interact with the adverstiement via a "No Touch" system. The patron's physical movements are immediately translated into the advertisement creating a far more powerful customer connection than any traditional digital signage system. Once the advertisement is complete, promotional offers can be displayed to the customer based on their interaction, giving them an incentive to act on the promotion at that moment.
For an even higher level of customer engagement, uWink develops custom Ad-based "No Touch" games that inform patrons about your current promotions and tailor the reward based on game performance.
uWink's "No Touch" Interactive Digital Signage System in action at uWink Hollywood
uWink Cell-Based Interactive Digital Signage
Customers enjoying the uWink Party Table at uWink Woodland Hills
Looking to add entertainment to your establishment that will bring in customers and promote a more social and lively atmosphere? The uWink Party Table is specifically designed to connect groups of strangers looking for interactive entertainment.
The uWink Party Table is a free-standing game table where up to 6 players can join together and play a game from our large selection including uSnake, Group Kubis, Electra Foosball, Ping Trips, and Octa Pong. A rollerball with four buttons for each player allows for full control but keeps the controls simple and easy for customers of all ages.
The uWink Party Table game library is constantly expanding and new games are automatically downloaded through a standard ethernet connection.
The uWink Party Table Game Libary. New games are added automatically and often.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Internap new Boston data center
The Applicant seeks a Special Permit with Site Plan Review for the use as a data center over 25,000 square feet (SZO § 7.11.15.c). Industrial A / Ward 1.
The Applicant discussed the history of the building. It was built in 1971 as a warehouse. The new use would be a data center. The exterior would need to be secure. The Applicant would like to incorporate green design elements. The lease would be for 15 years. The Applicant would like to reduce the size of the generator building if possible. The façade would be corrugated metal and painted concrete masonry units. Rooftop units are now on the elevations but are not in the renderings.
The DRC discussed the following:
There is no space for solar panels with the rooftop installations.
Landscaping: The proposed wildflowers would be attractive in the front of the building. The proposed grass is not an environmentally friendly landscaping material. The site could use more greenery to give it a friendlier appearance. The building could be covered in ivy. More landscaping is needed along Inner Belt. Provide more landscaping.
Façade: The façade is monolithic. The corrugated panels could change direction to break up the mass of the building. The use of color works well in this industrial area. Different colored panels could also break up the mass but it should not be too arbitrary or willful. The building needs more modulation. The doors could creep up into the façade above. There could be lighting under the lip of the building so that the building floats at night. Break up the mass of the building with one or more of these techniques.
The area with the generator building works well because it creates a space.
This is a functional building, which is a forgotten piece of Somerville. The Inner Belt area will have more life in the future and this building could set a precedent for how to design the box-like buildings in the area.
The DRC appreciates the use of color and the improvement that this project would bring to the site.
50 Inner Belt Road (Case #ZBA 2008-21)
Applicant: Internap Network Services, Inc.
Property Owner: Penna Realty Trust
Agent: John McDonald, Consulting
Legal Notice: Applicant: Internap Network Services, Inc. & Owner: Penna Realty Trust seek a Special Permit with Site Plan Review for the use as a data center over 25,000 square feet (SZO § 7.11.15.c). IA zone. Ward 1.
Date(s) of Hearing(s):
5/21, 6/4/08
Planning Board
Action:
Recommends conditional approval pending Design Review Committee meeting of May 22, 2008.
ZBA Action: Voted on June 4, 2008 to grant the Applicant’s request for a continuance to June 18, 2008.
Current Status: Applicant has requested continuance to July 9, 2008 to redesign the façade.
Accuray shares fall on Jefferies downgrade
Jefferies analyst Peter Bye downgraded the stock to "Hold" from "Buy," saying a weak economy might continue to hamper the company's growth.
A weak economy could continue holding back hospitals from making device purchases, which could then cause contract delays and order cancellations, Bye said. Altogether, that has the potential to stymie new orders growth and weigh down revenue and profit.
Cancer treatment centers have been the source of most contract cancellations, he said, and there are further risks as hospitals set their budgets for fiscal 2009. Although macroeconomic concerns are already considered in the stock's current valuation, it could dip on negative sales or other macroeconomic issues, he said.
Telecom Rumblings - Internap, Its CDN, and Strategy follow up
>> I agree that Limelight will never buy Internap. It’s not a fit for their company, their services or their strategic plans moving forward.
That being said, I would not be surprised if Internap wrote off the VitalStream acquisition. But I doubt they will exit the CDN business as shareholders would punish the company even further than it has and Internap already has spent the money and time to integrate the CDN offering. If Internap hired someone who knows how to productize, price, package, market and sell the CDN services, then they would see revenue grow. Until they hire some CDN folks experienced in the “business” of CDN and not the technology, it will be hard for them to make it work.
Streaming Media Xtra - sponsored by Internap
| Wednesday, August 13, 2008 |
Sponsored by: Internap |
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| Digital Asset Management for Video Video has changed the web as we knew it only a few years ago, adding infinite possibilities for interactivity with your customers and potential customers. Video is an effective way to present information including education, product demonstrations, entertainment, and advertising. But as the amount of video assets continue to grow, how do you track and monitor your video content? Integrated Digital Asset Management Solutions from Internap allow you to manage your entire video asset library including video content and advertising content through one easy-to-use interface. To learn more visit: www.Internapcdn.com/dam |
Emerging Clinical Data Continues to Support CyberKnife Radiosurgery for the Treatment of Lung Cancer
Emerging Clinical Data Continues to Support CyberKnife Radiosurgery for the Treatment of Lung Cancer
Wednesday August 13, 8:30 am ET
The study, titled "Fractionated Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in the Treatment of Primary, Recurrent, and Metastatic Lung Tumors," was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pittsburgh, Pa., and followed three patient populations over an average 12 month period: 1) patients with primary stage I non-small cell lung cancer, 2) patients whose cancer recurred after it was surgically removed, and 3) patients with metastatic tumors in the lung. All patients were treated with CyberKnife radiosurgery over a three-day period as outpatients. These patients had limited treatment options because they were medically inoperable (unable to undergo surgery due to pre-existing medical conditions or prior surgery) or refused surgery.
The tumor control and survival outcomes were excellent in the first year following treatment. Control of tumor growth was achieved in 85 percent of primary cancer patients, 92 percent of recurrent lung cancer patients, and 62 percent of metastatic cancer patients during the first year of follow-up. This is drastically different from response rates for radiation therapy in this patient population, which are typically associated with poor local control and survival rates ranging from 10 to 30 percent at five-year follow-up, as noted within the study.
Websense, SurfControl On-Demand Ltd - Equinix
| Company Information | |
| Company Name | Websense, SurfControl On-Demand Ltd |
| Also Known As | BlackSpider Technologies, MailControl, WebDefence, Surfcontrol |
| Company Website | http://www.websense.com |
| Primary ASN | 35788 |
| IRR Record | AS-WHS-[US,EU,AP] |
| Network Type | Enterprise |
| Approx Prefixes | 20 |
| Traffic Levels | Not Disclosed |
| Traffic Ratios | Balanced |
| Geographic Scope | Global |
| Looking Glass URL | |
| Route Server URL | |
| Notes | AS 44444: EU network (AS-WHS-EU) AS 35788: US network (AS-WHS-US) AS 7598: APAC network (AS-WHS-AP) We provide email and web security services to enterprise customers, and are interested in peering with both content and eyeball networks. |
| Public Peering Exchange Points | |||
| Exchange Point Name | ASN | IP Address | Mbit/sec |
| Equinix Ashburn | 35788 | 206.223.115.89 | 1000 |
| Equinix San Jose | 35788 | 206.223.116.126 | 1000 |
| Equinix Sydney | 7598 | 202.167.228.47 | 100 |
| | |||
| Private Peering Facilities | ||||||
| Facility Name | ASN | City | Country | SONET | Ethr | ATM |
| Equinix Ashburn | 35788 | Ashburn | US | |||
| Equinix Hong Kong | 7598 | Hong Kong | HK | |||
| Equinix San Jose (SV1) | 35788 | San Jose | US | |||
| Equinix Sydney | 7598 | Mascot (Sydney) NSW | AU | |||
| Company Information | |
| Company Name | Websense, Inc |
| Also Known As | BlackSpider Technologies,MailControl, WebDefence, Surfcontrol |
| Company Website | http://www.websense.com |
| Primary ASN | 44444 |
| IRR Record | AS-WHS-EU |
| Network Type | Enterprise |
| Approx Prefixes | 20 |
| Traffic Levels | Not Disclosed |
| Traffic Ratios | Balanced |
| Geographic Scope | Europe |
| Looking Glass URL | |
| Route Server URL | |
| Notes | We provide email and web security services to enterprise customers, and are interested in peering with both content and eyeball networks. |
| Private Peering Facilities | ||||||
| Facility Name | ASN | City | Country | SONET | Ethr | ATM |
| Equinix Dusseldorf | 44444 | Dusseldorf | DE | |||
| Equinix Frankfurt | 44444 | Frankfurt | DE | |||
| Equinix Geneva | 44444 | Geneva | CH | |||
| Equinix Heathrow | 44444 | West Drayton | UK | |||
| Equinix Paris (Roissy) | 44444 | Paris | FR | |||
Telecom Ramblings - Internap, Its CDN, and Strategy
It's hard to disagree with Rob, but someone has got to play the devil's part... ;-)
>>"I do think that Internap has to make some decisions from here, but I disagree with the analyst who said that the assets never made sense in Internap’s hands. From a strategic standpoint, a CDN product has always made sense alongside Internap’s high end blended transit and colocation. That’s why they were reselling Akamai’s services before this debacle even started - their customer base really does have interest in CDN services. What Internap has failed at (so far) is execution, not strategy. They have to convince both themselves and their customers that they know how to run a CDN, else they need to sell out to someone who can."
I agree that it made strategic sense for Internap to have CDN - they already had, as a reseller, the best one, AKAM, and they decided to have their own. I may disagree, as an investor, on the acquisition target, Vitalstream , the price paid, etc. - but that's history.
It seemed, after the acquisition, that CDN was the only strategy going forward for Internap - as if growth could only come from that area. Philip N. Kaplan, from Vitalstream, became Chief Strategy Officer for Internap, people like Eric Klinker, who had contributed to the patents that still represent Internap's best assets, left the company at that time.
What I slightly disagree on is that it was only lack of execution. Internap put all its strategic focus on CDN. If you just read their latest annual report, you'll still notice CDN is mentioned twice as much as the other business segments... That to me was choosing the WRONG strategy for the Company - which worries me even more than suffering an integration problem or having inherited a bad customer base.
The real growth area, colocation, was kind of put on hold:
Internap to Invest in Expanded Colocation Facilities
Business Wire, June 12, 2007
Internap Meets Increasing Customer Demand for Premier Data Center Services
ATLANTA -- Internap Network Services Corporation (NASDAQ: INAP), a global provider of optimized, reliable end-to-end Internet business solutions, today announced that it has approved an investment of up to 40 million dollars to fund the expansion of its colocation facilities in several key markets. The company anticipates implementing the expansion over the next three to four calendar quarters, with any potential funding to be provided under standard commercial financing arrangements.
Let's have a look at what happened:
Seattle opened in the 2Q 2008 - 3 full quarters after the announcement.
Houston in the mid of 3Q 2008 - 4 full quarters and a half after the announcement
New York will open in the mid 4Q 2008 - 5 full quarters and a half after the announcement
Boston will open at the end of the 4Q 2008 - I think we can say roughly after 6 full quarters, if on schedule.
We now find out from the 10Q and the conference call that:
>>The increased use of partner sites is one reason for the higher percentage of direct costs for the three-month period ended June 30, 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. We continue to expand the sites operated by us and expect to have more of this space available to be used in the future as part of our data center growth initiative.
We seek to optimize the most profitable mix of available data center space operated by us and our partners.
We expect our recent data center expansion will provide us lower costs per occupied square foot in future periods, enabling us to increase revenues compared to relatively lower direct costs of data center services.
The initial operating costs, especially for rent, of sites operated by us causes us to recognize some costs ahead of revenues but overall is more profitable at minimum levels of utilization than the use of partner sites.
It does sound a lot like: we wish we had had room in our centers, but that wasn't the case... so we had to go for partner sites where our margins are much lower... as also said during the c.c.:
>>George E. Kilguss, III
With regard to your question on margins data center really has two components to the margin. One is the new facilities coming on line. For example Boston, our expansion in New York, those facilities while we’re building them out we’ve taken possession of those and we have to include that rental expense in our cost of goods sold line. At the present time while we’re waiting for some of those factories to come on line we have continued to expand in our partner sites. As I think you know our partner sites’ gross margin is less than our company controlled sites so as we are continuing to sell under the partner sites that also has a natural downward pressure on our gross margins. But the larger component today is this fixed charge that we’re seeing ahead of revenue so once these sites open up we should get a quick improvement because the costs are already in our cost of goods sold and revenue will come in and help offset those costs directly.
(transcripts by Seeking Alpha)
>>"It may make sense for a CDN, one that wants to stay independent of the telecoms, to buy Internap. Hold on, am I insane, you ask? Well think about it for a second. Limelight already resells some IP transit, might it make sense for Limelight to combine its CDN with Internap’s high-end blended transit niche plus a colocation business that would have synergies for all those servers? There are cost savings to be had there. Yes, I do realize that Limelight probably is not in a position to pull it off right now, but I think that is the only big thing in the way of such a move. What about Akamai? If they don’t need a backbone but do need a broader portfolio to compete with one, then Internap’s customer list would not be a bad place to start.
Ah well, I doubt that will happen, but you never know. From here I think all Internap will simply try to regain its reputation, one connection at a time. What do they have to lose?"
Now, I really do not agree.
I just can't see any reason for Limelight to buy Internap at this stage. They don't need the (very limited) revenue generated today by Internap in CDN, and mostly the footprint would be a doubling (Equinix data centers around the world) - I can't see a real advantage.
Limelight would only be distracted by Internap's core business (IP Services...) and I doubt they could benefit from the Internap owned data centers in secondary locations like Atlanta, where the majority of space is (and where Internap is expanding into QTS data center, by the way...) or Houston...
As to Akamai, it seems to me they never believed in the "super bandwidth" proposition, and again I can't see a strategic fit. Not even eliminating a high profile competitor... which Internap, today, is not...
Internap may be an interesting acquisition target, but I doubt because of its CDN business - unless it is an excuse and the rest fits even better in the buyer's business model.
Just as a last comment on strategy, the real issue I have with the Company, as I believe the execution problem in the CDN business are behind us, is the answer to the Italian question "What will you do when you grow up?".
What's Internap, going forward? Still a bundled solution offering, just with a more balanced focus on ALL three products, colo, IP Services and CDN? Opening new locations in Europe looking for new sources of growth in the IP Services segment? Offering data center solution in these markets as well? Partner sites or owned?
Lastly, I was looking at this old chart from an Equinix Investors' Meeting.
Look where Internap stands in the colo business. If we look at Enterprice Value, both Switch and Data and Terremark are now valued about $ 600.000.000, Internap just slightly over $ 110.000.000. Mr Market is often wrong, but I guess this Company made more than just disappoint on execution...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The CDN market is going to be in for a world of hurt in 18-24 months
>>In the past 18 months, CDN and P2P based delivery vendors have raised over $300 million to build out and deploy content delivery services. So it should be no surprise to hear that BitGravity announced last week that it had raised $2.5 million from Allen and Company and Blake Krikorian, the co-founder and CEO of Sling Media.
...
I am amazed that companies continue to be able to raise money for a new CDN business when there are already over 50 CDN providers and the market is not big enough, and won't grow fast enough to support them all.
The CDN market is going to be in for a world of hurt in 18-24 months, and most of these CDNs are not going to get acquired or bought out at all, let alone at the kind of revenue multiple investors are dreaming of.
FastSoft Tweaks TCP to Accelerate the Internet
>>One of my sources tells me that FastSoft is also working closely with Internap, a company that operates data centers and a CDN. According to some of the experts I spoke with last week, a partnership here could be a game-changer for data centers, since buying and deploying FastTCP would save them a ton of money on bandwidth, a big factor these days due to the explosion of online video.
Frost & Sullivan - Robotics in Cancer Therapy
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By Dr. Bejoy Daniel, Industry Analyst, Healthcare
New surgical procedures for head and neck cancer offers improved accuracy for surgeons and reduced post-operative pain for patients. These new procedures use robotic surgery, and results have shown it lessens the scarring, breathing problems and damage to speech that usually happens with head and neck procedures. Initial tests have also shown that such new procedures in addition shorten recovery times for cancer patients.
Market ScenarioConclusion:
Accuray has been keen in developing the most advanced robotic radiosurgery system to treat tumors anywhere in the body with the highest levels of accuracy. Currently Accuray has 130 CyberKnife Systems installed worldwide with a large body of peer-reviewed papers supporting its clinical practice.
Despite Accuray's product positioning within the radiation therapy market as a specialty player in the area of robotic radiosurgery, the company is expected to grow significantly above the market. However, they are expected to face competition from competitors with a broader product offering, along with pricing pressure as key inhibitors to the company achieving the brand appeal of larger players such as Elekta and Varian.
Immersion Launches New Products and Services for Animation Industry
Immersion Launches New Products and Services for Animation Industry
Tuesday August 12, 8:30 am ET
INTERNAP FORM 10-Q HIGHLIGHTS
3. | Segments |
The following tables show operating results for our reportable segments, along with reconciliations from segment profit to loss before income taxes and equity in earnings of equity-method investment:
| IP Services | Data Center Services | CDN Services | Other | Total | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, 2008: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | $ | 30,395 | $ | 26,511 | $ | 5,419 | $ | — | $ | 62,325 | ||||||||||
| Direct costs of network, sales and services, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, included below | 11,401 | 20,028 | 2,055 | — | 33,484 | |||||||||||||||
| Segment profit | $ | 18,994 | $ | 6,483 | $ | 3,364 | $ | — | 28,841 | |||||||||||
| Other operating expenses | 32,414 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Loss from operations | (3,573 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-operating income | 305 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Loss before income taxes and equity in | ||||||||||||||||||||
| earnings of equity-method investment | $ | (3,268 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
6. | Income Taxes |
etc. etc.
Posts
Hi David
Thanks for pointing out several subtleties of the technology.
1. You are absolutely right that the idea of proxying a TCP connection is not new, and it is indeed an effective mechanism through which to address many issues that arise in massive infrastructures, as you pointed out. By inserting an appliance between the sender and the Internet, it gives us a way to deal with fluctuations in the Internet and maintain end-to-end application performance. The innovation here is not in convincing the sender to send fast, but the various algorithms to manage network fluctuations effectively to deliver robust performance to the clients. This include algorithms to optimally utilize available bandwidth in Internet, to be extremely resilient to packet loss, to maintain throughput, robustness, and fairness across long distances and heterogeneous receivers.
2. You are also right in pointing out that the basic TCP framework is intact in our approach. We have, however, completely re-designed the *implementation* of key functions in TCP that affect content delivery over the Internet, so that it is more efficient, robust, and evolvable in today’s networks and for today’s applications. We have implemented all these innovations in a way that is TCP-compliant - that’s why the appliance accelerates without having any hardware or software installation at the client side.
Regards
Steven
----
Hi Steve,
In your post, you mention algorithms you’ve developed that optimally utilize available bandwidth and reduce packet loss etc. I know that Internap’s MIRO technology and smart routing does this when you purchase Internap bandwidth. Is your technology complimentary to Internap’s devices like the FCP box or would it replace it?
----
Hi Guy
I’m not familiar with the technologies that you mentioned, but in general, routing is layer 3 and transport (e.g. TCP) is layer 4 (at least conceptually; I know there are exceptions in implementation etc), so they complement each other, in that one attempts to choose the best path from point A to point B and one attempts to make the most effective use of the chosen path.
The most remarkable ingenuity of the Internet pioneers, and one that is singularly responsible for the explosive growth of the Internet, is to have gotten the layering architecture right, of which the above is an example. Each layer provides a few functions well (media access, routing, congestion control & loss recovery, applications, etc) and each can evolve independently, unlocking innovations across almost all IT landscape and beyond. The very fact that multiple companies and industries are able to cooperate/co-exist/compete to build/operate/serve from/monetize on the same network infrastructure is an astounding testament of the architectural success of these pioneers, unimaginable before the Internet era. Can’t help but digress in awe…
Steven
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it is somehow curious that he says he's not familiar with the technologies mentioned, while Om speculates he's working with Internap, the Company that developed and implemented those technologies...