CDN Video Streaming: Content Delivery Network for Live Streaming

by Umer Ahmed on Oct 30, 2024 2:57:58 AM

A person live streaming using CDN video streaming

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CDN video streaming is essential for many reasons. Learn what it is and what to look for a CDN video streaming solution.

But what happens when viewers are constantly met with buffering and lag? The frustration can lead to drop-off, damaged brand perception, and lost opportunities.

The culprit behind these issues is latency, the time it takes for video data to travel from your server to viewers' devices. The further the distance, the worse the lag. This is especially problematic for businesses and organizations that are trying to reach a global audience.

With audiences getting frustrated due to excessive delays in your live stream, it becomes impossible to hook them to your live video content. This means that your efforts put into making sure you provide the top-notch streaming experience to a large audience have gone in vain.

This can translate into high chances of your audience never coming back to consume your live video content. You won’t get their attention back.

The solution for businesses looking to deliver flawless live streams is a Content Delivery Network (CDN live streaming). It acts as a middleman to provide the content on your behalf, reducing the distance and latency issues.

In short, CDNs have become a business necessity for anyone using live streams to connect with a global audience. This blog post will explore how CDNs work, the different types available, and the key benefits they offer for businesses. We'll also show you how CDNs can be used across various industries to achieve specific goals. So, let us start by learning what is CDN video streaming.

What Is CDN Video Streaming?

CDN video streaming, as the name indicates, makes use of a content delivery network (CDN) or a dedicated enterprise content delivery network (eCDN) to ensure optimal streaming of live video content to a scattered and large audience with low latencies.

With the demand for video content increasing at an exponential pace, it has become imperative for organizations to enhance the delivery of their live video content. Fortunately, CDN live streaming helps in that matter.

Consider this: you order a product from a company, and instead of shipping it from one central location, the product is shipped from the nearest warehouse to your home. CDN works the same way. Instead of the product, they are used to deliver content from the closest server to the viewer.

Regular CDNs deliver a variety of online content available over the Internet, but a CDN specifically designated for video content delivery offers key advantages for live streaming. By storing copies of videos on servers around the globe, these video streaming CDNs ensure smooth playback with minimal buffering, even for viewers far away.

Different Types of Live Streaming CDNs

As we have taken an overview of what CDN video streaming is, it is noteworthy that not all CDNs are created equal. In this section, we will explore the different types of live streaming CDNs available and how to choose the right one for your needs. The types are listed as follows:

Pull CDN
Push CDN
P2P CDN

Pull CDN

A Pull CDN works on the principle of request-based content delivery. When the viewer sends the request for statics data to the CDN server, if the CDN server doesn't have that data, it will fetch it from the original server and cache the asset on the server. Then, it sends the cached copy to the users. Since the cache on the pull CDNs is made on user request, it requires less maintenance and is optimal for live streaming.

Push CDN

Push CDN operates differently from pull CDN. They take a more hands-on approach to content delivery. Instead of waiting for user requests, website owners or administrators can choose to upload specific content they want cached on the CDN's servers. This content can be static website files like images, videos, or HTML pages.

Once uploaded, the CDN takes over. It distributes the content across its network of edge servers strategically positioned around the globe. This pre-positioning ensures the content is readily available at geographically dispersed locations, closer to potential users. When a user requests a file, the CDN checks its servers nearest to the user.

P2P CDN

P2P or peer-to-peer CDN does not work on the traditional client-server model. Instead, it uses a collaborative network of devices to deliver the content. When a user requests content, the P2P CDN breaks it down into smaller chunks. Then, it smartly identifies devices on the network that already have those chunks and takes their help for content delivery, and these devices are the peers.

These devices all share the chunks they possess with the requesting user at the same time. This parallel delivery from multiple sources significantly speeds up the download process.

Why Pull CDN Is Ideal for Live Video Streaming Delivery?

Choosing the right CDN for live video streaming delivery can be tricky. All three types - Pull, Push, and P2P - offer advantages. However, due to some key differences, Pull CDNs tend to be the preferred choice for many organizations. Here are a few reasons:

Better User Experience

As we have already said, pull CDN works on the basis of content requests from the CDN server, which then brings content from the original server. Compared to Push CDN, users are not dependent on the host to push content so that they can have access to it. Instead, the automated pulling takes the content from the original server, caches it, and gives it to the user, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Low Time-to-Live (TTL)

TTL, which stands for Time-to-Live, is a value associated with data packets on a network that determines how long they can exist before being discarded by routers. In CDNs, TTL determines how long the content will be cached in the server before it expires.

In pull CDN, TTL is typically low as it constantly fetches updates. TTL distributes the load away from the original server, improving stability for high-traffic streams.

Requires Less Time and Effort

Pull CDNs are faster to set up because they handle content fetching automatically. You configure a few settings, and the CDN takes care of the rest. This frees you up from manual uploads and reduces the load on your original server.

How CDN Live Streaming Works?

Live streams pose unique challenges compared to traditional video content delivery. Traditionally, when viewers request a video or live stream, data travels directly from a source server to their device. This distance can lead to latency, causing delays and excessive buffering.

A single server can also become overloaded if many viewers tune in at the same time, impacting stream quality. In addition, if the server goes down entirely, the stream becomes unavailable due to this single point of failure.

CDN tackles these problems by distributing content across a geographically dispersed network of edge servers. When a live stream originates from your source server, it is uploaded to the source, or we can say the "main server." The CDN then fragments the live stream into smaller chunks. These chunks are then distributed to geographically relevant edge servers closest to your viewers.

When a viewer requests the live stream, their device's IP address is used to determine the closest edge server. The viewer's device then receives the video data directly from this nearest edge server, significantly reducing latency and buffering. Edge servers also cache frequently accessed content, further reducing latency and bandwidth usage.

The CDN also employs load balancing to distribute viewer requests across multiple edge servers. This prevents any single server from becoming overloaded during spikes in viewership. Additionally, CDNs have built-in redundancy. If an edge server experiences an outage, viewers are automatically routed to another nearby server using a fallback mechanism, ensuring stream availability.

What to Look for in a CDN Live Streaming Solution?

While choosing a reliable CDN is crucial for a smooth and buffer-free live stream, how do you define success beyond technical aspects? This guide dives into key metrics that indicate a successful live stream, helping you choose a live streaming CDN that optimizes not only delivery but also user experience.

The following things need to be looked for in a CDN live streaming solution:

Number of PoPs
Spread of PoPs
High availability (HA)
Integration with video platforms
Security-first

Number of PoPs

PoP or Point of Presence is a physical location where more than one network or device combines to form a connection for the rest of the Internet or the network.

It plays a vital role in smooth live streaming by reducing latency (delay) for viewers. They act as storage points closer to viewers, holding cached copies of the live stream. This reduces the distance data needs to travel, leading to faster loading and smoother playback.

Having more strategically placed PoPs allow the CDN to handle a larger, geographically diverse audience without sacrificing quality. Users are not dependent on just a few edge servers. Instead, the larger number of PoPs distributes the load, ensuring the CDN can effectively cater to a diverse audience.

For instance, Microsoft Azure CDN has 192 PoPs spread across 109 metro cities. These PoPs cache the content and distribute the load.

Spread of PoPs

Understanding the spread of PoPs is as crucial as prioritizing the number of PoPs. We know that when data travels long distances, it can affect the stream quality and buffering issues, so we place CDNs in between to bridge the gap.

However, even if PoP edge servers are in good numbers but are concentrated in one location, the quality of the streaming will still be affected. Therefore, it is necessary to strategically place edge servers in the world so that users all over the world can have a PoP nearby and there are no buffering and latency issues.

For instance, Akamai is one of the best CDN providers in the world, having PoPs in more than 130 countries.

High Availability (HA)

High availability means any IT infrastructure or device is to work continuously without interruption for a designated interval of time. Because of this, there will be no downtime and minimum risk of redundant failure.

High availability often comes with geographically spread PoPs. This allows the CDN to handle unexpected surges in viewers without sacrificing quality. More servers ensure everyone gets a smooth experience.

Thus, it is necessary to find a CDN that is highly available so that your live stream can be uninterrupted.

Integration with Enterprise Video Platforms

Many businesses use enterprise video platforms to stream their live video content. For businesses, there should be minimal lag and buffering to ensure that the viewer experience remains top-notch.

They need an enterprise CDN that offers flexible integration with their existing enterprise video platform. This ensures that live streams remain undisturbed, avoiding unnecessary hassles on both the organization’s and the viewer’s end.

Security-first

Security is crucial for live-stream CDNs. Enterprises like yours use video to communicate internal messages within the company or train your employees to perform their jobs better. This kind of video content often contains sensitive, proprietary information that needs protection at all costs. A secure CDN helps you protect your valuable content (e.g., copyrighted material) with encryption, access controls, and time-limited URLs.

Why CDN Is Critical for Live Streaming

Live streaming platforms have their unique challenges compared to traditional video-on-demand (VOD). To ensure a smooth and successful stream, a content delivery network (CDN) is essential. Here's how CDNs tackle these challenges and provide significant benefits:

Reduced Latency and Buffering

Live streams require real-time delivery of the video content. CDNs store cached copies of your stream on geographically distributed edge servers. Viewers connect to the closest edge server instead of the far-located origin server, significantly reducing the distance data needs to travel. This minimizes latency (delay) and buffering interruptions, ensuring a smooth viewing experience.

Reduced Server Load

Live streams require a good amount of bandwidth to cater to large audiences. A CDN offloads this huge influx of traffic from your original server by distributing the stream across its network. This allows your server to focus on encoding and processing the live feed, resulting in smoother performance.

Handling Traffic Spikes

Live streams can experience sudden surges in viewership. CDNs are purpose-built to handle these spikes efficiently. The distributed network can scale up or down dynamically to accommodate fluctuations in traffic, ensuring consistent stream quality for all viewers.

Reduced Bandwidth Costs

By distributing content from edge servers closer to viewers, CDNs reduce the overall distance data needs to travel. This translates to lower bandwidth costs for you compared to relying solely on your original server.

Enhanced Security

While encryption is essential, advanced video streaming CDNs provide robust security capabilities that are crucial for live streaming. This section dives into the additional layers of protection CDNs offer to safeguard your valuable content and ensure a secure viewing experience.

Mitigating DDoS Attacks: Live streams are vulnerable to Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, where malicious actors flood your server with traffic, causing outages. CDNs act as a shield by absorbing and redirecting this traffic across their vast network, protecting your original server and ensuring stream availability.

Encryption in Transit (Secure Data Transmission): CDNs utilize Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols to encrypt data transmission between the CDN and viewers. This protects your stream content from unauthorized access or interception.

Tokenizing URLs (Content Protection): CDNs can replace static URLs with tokens that expire after a short duration. This makes it more difficult for unauthorized viewers to access your live-stream content by directly linking to the URL, which has expired by the time an unauthorized attempt is made.

By addressing these critical aspects, CDNs ensure a high-quality, reliable, and secure live-streaming experience for both you and your viewers.

How Different Sectors Use CDN Video Streaming?

Video streaming delivery with CDNs has exploded across various industries, transforming how businesses connect with audiences. This section delves into how different sectors use CDN video streaming to achieve their unique goals. Let us have a look at a few industries that are using live streaming CDN:

Healthcare

The healthcare sector has a magnitude of live video content like consultations between doctors and patients, surgery tutorials, staff training, and much more. Their audiences are scattered throughout the world, and delays in live streaming can disrupt training or communication.

Here, CDNs enable medical professionals to stream their content without delays. Stream viewers can securely observe surgeries in high definition from remote locations, facilitating training and collaboration. Moreover, live webinars and virtual events empower patients and foster open communication.

CDNs ensure the security and reliability of these live streams, allowing healthcare professionals to provide quality care, enhance patient education, and ultimately improve patient engagement.

Education

In the education sector, CDNs enable educators to conduct classes and education sessions for students located in different parts of the world without lags and buffering.

After all, lags and buffering can create interruptions in the learning experience and can significantly hurt the goal of maximizing knowledge retention among learners. Without CDN, instructor-learner communication can also be negatively affected, thereby creating a gap between them, which, in turn, impacts learning.

CDNs ensure the smooth and reliable delivery of educational content, empowering both students and educators with no geographic barriers.

Government

The government sector is increasingly using CDN video streaming to enhance communication and outreach with the public and other entities, such as embassies, agencies, and departments. Live broadcasts of town hall meetings, public service announcements (PSAs), and educational seminars can reach audiences efficiently across the country and to their citizens around the world.

It creates transparency and engagement with citizens by providing real-time access to important information. Furthermore, CDNs play a crucial role in disaster response by enabling the secure and reliable dissemination of emergency updates and public safety information during critical times.

By ensuring high-quality, uninterrupted live streams, CDNs empower the government to strengthen communication channels, keep their citizens updated, and build stronger relationships with the people they serve.

Enterprises

Multinational corporations rely on high-quality video and interactive features for various events, including live product launches, CEO/executive meetings, and webinars for the board of directors’ meetings. Enterprises need to deliver these events seamlessly to a global yet internal audience consisting of employees.

Without CDN, businesses will face lags and occasional stops in live streams, which can affect sales, company reputation, investors, and employees. To know more about what causes occasional stops, refer to our blog on What Causes Occasion Stops in a Good Live Stream Video.

However, if they use a robust CDN, it facilitates seamless live streaming of internal meetings and training sessions, promoting remote teams' collaboration and knowledge sharing.

This translates to a more efficient and globally connected workforce. Additionally, secure delivery of internal communications and company updates via CDN keeps employees informed and engaged.

Importance of CDN Live Streaming in a Nutshell

The benefits of CDN video streaming are undeniable. From improved speed and efficiency to enhanced security and cost savings, CDNs empower organizations across various sectors to leverage live streaming for communication, education, remote workforce management, and other purposes.

By strategically distributing content across a network of edge servers, CDNs effectively address challenges like latency, buffering, and scalability. This gives a superior viewing experience for audiences worldwide, with reduced interruptions and smoother playback.

If you're looking to elevate your live streaming experience and reach a global audience, partnering with a reliable CDN provider is the key. With a CDN in place, you can ensure your viewers receive high-quality, secure, and buffer-free streams, fostering deeper engagement and maximizing the impact of your live content.

CDN Video Streaming with EnterpriseTube

EnterpriseTube offers CDN video streaming through an extensive support for major CDNs, such as Akamai, Fastly, Amazon CloudFront, Microsoft Azure CDN, etc. This allows you to successfully deliver live video content without significant delays to a large audience. EnterpriseTube also offers a secure framework for delivering enterprise video content through encryption and time-limited URLs.

Want to try it yourself? Get a 7-day free trial today or book a demo with us!