Over the last year, there has been much talk about a new trend taking shape in CDN industry called “DIY CDN”. Some companies, especially those delivering a high volume of content have taken it upon themselves to build DIY CDNs. Although DIY CDNs are much smaller in size than even the smallest pure-play CDNs, its a growing trend that’s becoming a reality. The DIY CDN helps some companies reduce cost and gain more control of their delivery efforts. DIY CDN comes in two flavors: 1) You can build a full scale PoP infrastructure from scratch or 2) Leverage existing infrastructure like AWS, Google and Azure and use a CDN Software Stack over it.
This is where Section.io comes in. Founded in 2012, Section.io is a next-generation CDN that enables companies to build a DIY CDN over AWS, Google and Azure. Originally from Australia, Section.io recently moved their HQ’s to Boulder, Colorado after having great success in Australia landing big clients like Mazda. From inception, the executive team decided to focus on building out the CDN Software Layer, not the Network Layer, thus becoming a software defined CDN itself. The key differentiator for Section.io – they give customers the choice to select the specific version of Varnish Cache and Mod Security in their development and production environments. In on way, Section.io resembles the cloud ADCs like Appcito and Avi Networks. More to come.
Company Background
- Company: Section.io
- Started: 2012
- New HQ: Boulder, CO
- VC Raised: Private
- Executives: Stewart McGrath (CEO) and Daniel Bartholomew (CTO)
- Employee Count: 10+
- Product: DIY CDN stack comprised of caching, security and reporting that runs on AWS, Google and Azure
- Customers: Mazda, Australian Geographic and Booktopia
Feature Set
- CDN Software Stack comprised of Varnish, Mod Security and Advanced Reporting Tools
- Software stack works on AWS, Google and Azure
- Logging is based on Elk Stack: Elasticsearch, Logstash and Kibana, the most popular open source logging system on the planet
- Each CDN deployment is dedicated to one customer only
- Customer can choose specific versions of Varnish and Mod Security
- Pricing based on page views
