> This is as foreign a concept from traditional networking and the seven layer OSI model
coughcough what? One of the major challenges for a CDN is predicated upon OSI layers 1 and 2: You need to establish POPs with routers and caching servers geographically distributed near major IX points (L2 peering fabrics, and crucial buildings that host the same IX points, where you can run intra-building fiber crossconnects for network-to-network interfaces to provide settlement free peering to major ISPs). The internet is physically built out of a great deal of equipment at layer 1.
In the case of Google, you need to have a team of people who care about things like cost-effectively building intra-datacenter 100GbE layer 2 connections between Google, and large content sinks (eyeball) ISPs such as Charter/TWTC or similar.
Hand waving around and saying "we've built some new software to improve how we efficiently deliver BGP sessions to edge peers" is cool and all, but don't mistake it for some radical change. It is all still built on top of things like 2 megawatt diesel generators, massive battery plants, DWDM line terminals, dark fiber, etc.
In other words, it's built on hundreds of millions to billions of dollars of typical, boring stuff on the bottom that allows all the cool stuff to work as well as it does.
cough cough what? One of the major challenges for a CDN is predicated upon OSI layers 1 and 2: You need to establish POPs with routers and caching servers geographically distributed near major IX points (L2 peering fabrics, and crucial buildings that host the same IX points, where you can run intra-building fiber crossconnects for network-to-network interfaces to provide settlement free peering to major ISPs). The internet is physically built out of a great deal of equipment at layer 1.
In the case of Google, you need to have a team of people who care about things like cost-effectively building intra-datacenter 100GbE layer 2 connections between Google, and large content sinks (eyeball) ISPs such as Charter/TWTC or similar.
Hand waving around and saying "we've built some new software to improve how we efficiently deliver BGP sessions to edge peers" is cool and all, but don't mistake it for some radical change. It is all still built on top of things like 2 megawatt diesel generators, massive battery plants, DWDM line terminals, dark fiber, etc.