Content Delivery Networks are defined by many things, but the feature set is one of importance. The CDNs that continue to lead the charge in product innovation increase their chances of long term survival and success. Some CDNs like Instart Logic and Incapsula innovate at a rapid pace. Those CDNs that fall behind in new feature development/roll out will eventually lose traction and customers. Below is a historical timeline of the CDN feature set for the last decade. Although it is extremely difficult to attach a year to a specific feature, we’ll give it a shot so that we get a general idea of the various stages of CDN feature roll-out over the last decade.
Evolution of CDN Features
Stage 1 (2007 and Prior)
- Token Authentication
- RTMP (Flash) Streaming
- WMS Streaming
- Origin Storage
- SSL Certs
- Raw Log Files
- Basic Reporting
Stage 2 (2007 – 2011)
- All above
- Advanced Reporting
- DSA / ADN – Middle mile optimization
- Download Manager
- Instant Purging
- HLS/HDS
- Rules Engine
- Query string caching
- Real Time Reporting
- DNS Load Balancing
Stage 3 (2011 – 2013)
- All above
- Web Application Firewall
- FEO Front-end Optimization
- Wireless last mile optimization
- Mobile device detection
Stage 4 (2014 – 2016)
- All above
- DDoS Scrubbing Centers
- Web Application Streaming and Time to First Paint
- VM Thin Client Layer in Browser talking to CDN POP
