FastForward Networks Introduces Revolutionary Media Networking Platform for the Distribution and Management of Media Broadcasts Over the Internet
BUSINESS WIRE - March 27, 2000 11:33
SAN FRANCISCO, Mar 27, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Broadcast Network Infrastructure Enables Thousands of Simultaneous Channels To Edge Servers Serving Millions of Viewers -- Narrowband to Broadband
FastForward(TM) Networks, a newly introduced company, announced today the first media networking platform for the distribution and management of audio and video broadcasting over the Internet.
FastForward's Broadcast Overlay Architecture(TM)(BOA) allows content distributors and service providers to build overlays to their existing networks that are optimized for Internet broadcast, including streaming audio and video content. A unique approach to Internet broadcast, the BOA allows service providers and content distributors to create a Media Distribution Network (MDN) that enables the high-quality broadcast of thousands of live programs concurrently to millions of viewers.
FastForward's networking platform incorporates a suite of integrated solutions that enable providers to build MDNs and advance the state-of-the-art in Internet broadcasting. FastForward's networking platform has been selected by Real Broadcast Network(TM) and is currently in evaluation with Digital Island.
FastForward has solved the difficult problem of managing and distributing streaming media broadcasts over the Internet by creating an architecture that provides the key network and control capabilities necessary to enhance the ability to build a profitable Internet broadcast business: enable broadcast scalability and reliability, management and control, monetization of streams, enhanced viewer experience, and content peering.
The BOA's distributed design and management capabilities allow for the delivery of high-quality streams to the edges of the network where powerful streaming media servers reside and serve content to viewers. FastForward's networking platform routes streams away from the expense, congestion, failures, and headaches that characterize the Internet core and ensures that servers at the edge of the network receive high-quality content for delivery to customers. FastForward supports RealNetworks(R) RealSystem(R) G2, Windows Media Technology and Apple's QuickTime.
"Service providers and content distributors are eager to add managed broadcast to their portfolio of services, but to do so they require a distribution and management platform that scales with the Internet," said Abhay Parekh, co-founder, president, and CEO of FastForward Networks. "FastForward's BOA allows content distributors and service providers to deliver high-quality Internet broadcasts, while enabling them to provision and manage streams and support compelling revenue-generation capabilities and services, such as pay-per-view, in-stream ad placement based on viewer demographics, and Nielsen-like ratings. And FastForward's scalable open architecture can be deployed incrementally. As the demand for Internet broadcast grows, so can the MDN. That translates into long-term strategic value."
"RealNetworks has been working closely with FastForward to enable FastForward's Broadcast Overlay Architecture for RealSystem G2," said Martin Plaehn, senior vice president of RealNetworks. "By using the broadband-powered, standards-based, open architecture of RealSystem G2, along with FastForward's BOA, broadcasters can deliver to viewers an unsurpassed audio and video Internet experience. Together, RealNetworks and FastForward are removing barriers that have constrained Internet broadcasting."
FastForward's BOA incorporates a suite of integrated solutions that allow providers to build a new Internet broadcast industry:
-- MediaBridge(TM): software-based broadcast router that is deployed
typically in co-location facilities throughout the MDN
-- MediaBridge Adapter(TM): platform-specific modules (Real Networks
G2, Windows Media Technology and Apple's QuickTime) that
integrate closely with streaming media servers at the edge of the
network
-- Broadcast Manager(TM): a suite of network monitoring and
management tools that enable service providers and content
distributors to control, view and monitor broadcasts at the
stream level
"Digital Island's e-Business Delivery Network is ideal for transactive multimedia, or the proposition of providing a fast and secure transaction back end to high-quality streaming services that function as a front end to global e-Business," said Leo Spiegel, president of Digital Island. "As the market for streaming services grows, Digital Island requires a streaming solution that is manageable, scalable, reliable and flexible, allowing us to broadcast and manage multiple channels using varying content formats. Live testing in our network has shown that FastForward's networking platform delivers on all levels. Digital Island is evaluating FastForward's technology for deployment to help us further meet the demand for transactive multimedia."
"The Real Broadcast Network selected FastForward's innovative Internet Broadcast technology for distribution and management of Internet broadcasting with RealNetworks' RealSystem G2," said Ian Freed, general manager, Real Broadcast Networks. "As the pioneer in media delivery on the Internet, Real Broadcast Networks is committed to providing its customers the highest quality viewing experience possible. FastForward's technology enhances the manageability and reliability of media delivery over the Internet -- enhancing our viewers' experience while opening the door to new service opportunities."
FastForward's Broadcast Overlay Architecture
FastForward's carrier-class BOA allows service providers and content distributors to build networks optimized for broadcast, allowing their infrastructure to support millions of viewers with thousands of simultaneous streaming media broadcasts. The architecture's robust, scalable, highly manageable approach enables virtual overlay networks for broadcast services to be built on top of existing Internet or IP infrastructure. FastForward's broadcast distribution and management platform can be deployed incrementally, allowing service providers and content distributors to build out their MDNs over time.
The architecture gives providers and their content producer customers flexible tools for content publishing and distribution. Unlike other approaches that require centralized content injection, the BOA allows providers to inject content into the network from any service node in the MDN. Injected content is then distributed to the network edge and away from the Internet core.
"The integration of Windows Media into FastForward's Broadcast Overlay Architecture gives content distribution networks a powerful tool for reaching the broadest audience with the best-quality audio and video," said Dave Fester, director of marketing for Microsoft's Digital Media Division. "Combining FastForward's flexible solution with the scalability and reliability of Windows 2000 servers promises to significantly improve the quality of live streaming events."
The BOA scales well with the penetration of broadband access, network-level QoS, and IP multicast, allowing providers to deploy broadcast today and implement advances in the industry as and when they occur. The architecture is designed to take advantage of localized multicast or QoS deployments for performance or economic benefit.
"Apple's QuickTime TV, an industry-standards based streaming network, is based on an open server model that has resulted in an incredible amount of live and stored media content," said Frank Casanova, Apple's director of QuickTime Product Marketing. "FastForward's Broadcast Overlay Architecture extends the scalability and quality that QuickTime users expect while watching content on the QTV network."
FastForward's BOA is the first to deliver the critical new pieces necessary to build powerful next generation media distribution networks:
-- Broadcast level scalability - FastForward's BOA enables infrastructure scalability in three dimensions: number of viewers, number of channels, and bandwidth. The networking platform enables service providers to support thousands of channels to millions of viewers simultaneously. At the same time, the architecture enables scale in bandwidth. The intelligent architecture is aware of viewer bandwidth constraints and scales the stream to match the requirements of individual viewers-whether they are using a 56k dial-up connection or broadband Internet access.
-- Carrier-grade reliability - FastForward's BOA delivers true
carrier-grade reliability, routing streams with application-level
intelligence, so that lower-level network failures (or partial
failures) are routed around or otherwise accommodated. The BOA's
self-healing design also routes around failures in the MDN,
ensuring that viewers stay connected and have a quality viewing
experience.
-- Control and management - FastForward's BOA allows new levels of
monitoring, control, and ease of administration, enabling content
distributors and service providers for the first time, to manage
their broadcasts at the stream level and deliver targeted levels
of quality and control of the viewer experience. This
unprecedented level of management allows a rich set of
capabilities, including the ability to provision a link and
divide the bandwidth among content producers and then subdivide
that bandwidth again for the producer based on the content they
are broadcasting. This capability gives the producer the
flexibility to respond to immediate shifts in viewer behavior and
allocate bandwidth to the most high profile broadcasts. And, the
streams of each producer are isolated from one another - the
broadcast of a major event will not affect the quality of another
producer's broadcasts on the same link.
-- Monetization of streams - The BOA's management and control
capabilities allow providers to measure stream performance and
viewer behavior and support services such as actual viewer
ratings (rather than sampling), in-stream ad placement based on
viewer demographics, and billing based on criteria that combine
network performance and content quality.
-- Enhanced viewer experience - The BOA enables service providers
and content distributors to manage and distribute scalable,
reliable and high-quality streams to millions of viewers. The BOA
enables streams to be delivered with optimum quality to the edge
of the network. Patented algorithms for adaptive stream routing
and packet recovery can accommodate limitations of the underlying
Internet infrastructure, resulting in up to 10x improvements in
stream quality. As a result, client connections are more robust,
enabling content providers to deliver a compelling experience
that ensures that viewers remain interested and stay connected.
-- Content peering capabilities - The distributed nature of the
architecture allows service providers to move up the value chain
by building content peering agreements similar to existing
transport peering relationships, but with elements of the
traditional broadcast world as well. The agreements allow
providers and content distributors to build relationships to
deliver streaming media content to wider audiences, expanding the
reach of the content distributor to the provider's subscriber
base and allowing the service provider to sell a value-added
service - live broadcast of a variety of compelling content - to
subscribers. Built-in policy management enables providers to
handle issues such as feed management and settlement classes.
"FastForward's innovative architecture, coupled with the reach of the Internet allows content distributors and service providers to broadcast many more channels to larger, more dispersed audiences," said Greg Howard, principal analyst with the HTRC Group.
FastForward's Product Suite
The BOA is realized through the FastForward product suite, which includes three core components: MediaBridges, MediaBridge Adapters and the Broadcast Manager.
The MediaBridge is a software-based application-level streaming media router that is deployed throughout the MDN forming an overlay broadcast mesh. It delivers fault-tolerant, high-performance distribution of streaming content over multiple wide-area networks in a manner that easily scales to meet broadcast demands. By adapting to undesirable conditions in underlying networks, the MediaBridge minimizes perceived quality degradation at the endpoints, for a superior viewing experience.
The MediaBridge adapters are platform-specific modules supporting Real Networks G2 RealServer, Microsoft Windows Media, and Apple's QuickTime that reside between a MediaBridge and traditional media servers. They extend the dynamic features of FastForward's media delivery architecture to the edge of the network without compromising the feature-rich communication between media clients and servers. By integrating media servers into an all-encompassing media networking architecture, distribution network managers can control and monitor their network from content acquisition to the points where content is served to clients.
Broadcast Manager is a suite of network monitoring and management tools that enable service providers and content distributors to efficiently control, view and monitor broadcasts at the stream level. Working with the MediaBridges and MediaBridge Adapters, the Broadcast Manager presents an accurate, real-time view of the individual components of the underlying network, as well as its overall health and performance. Distributed data gathering and presentation of algorithms allow central and scalable management of global-scale MDNs. A modular architecture separates data-gathering, monitoring and management tasks, for easy integration and coexistence with other network monitoring tools. Rich APIs allow broadcast and network operation center managers to customize their management experience.
FastForward also offers integration services to customers who want assistance in the design and deployment of an MDN and in the integration of the MDN with existing redirection schemes or the enhancement of existing schemes to optimize broadcast.
"Streaming video is clearly yielding multiple, killer Internet applications," said Peter Christy, Vice-President of the Internet Research Group (Los Altos). "But delivering high-quality, cost-effective streaming media is very challenging, as most big Internet media attempts have proven. FastForward has creatively moved streaming technology forward, and delivered a architecture for content distributors that should make a big difference in the practical deployment of streaming media and in the creation of these killer apps."
Pricing and Availability
The FastForward networking platform is currently undergoing beta testing with leading content distributors. First customer shipment is slated for April 2000. Pricing starts at approximately $250,000 for an initial MDN deployment. MDN pricing will vary with network configuration based upon number of locations, number of CPUs, number of media servers and redundancy options.
About FastForward Networks
Founded in 1998 and based in San Francisco, FastForward Networks delivers a media networking platform that transforms the Internet into a broadcast medium and will bring additional scale, quality and profitability to Internet broadcasting. Company founders Steven McCanne and Abhay Parekh are internationally recognized innovators in the areas of network design and multimedia networking in the Internet. FastForward is backed by Accel Partners; Andrew Ludwick, founder of SynOptics Communications and former CEO of Bay Networks; Deborah Estrin, IETF luminary and author of the RSVP and BGP specifications; Robert Gallager, inventor of the high-speed modem and IEEE Medal of Honor Recipient; Randy Katz, inventor of RAID and former Chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department at the University of California at Berkeley. For more information, please visit FastForward's Web site at www.ffnet.com.
Note to Editors: FastForward Networks, FastForward Networks logo, Broadcast Overlay Architecture, MediaBridge, MediaBridge Adaptor, and Broadcast Manager are trademarks of FastForward Networks, Inc. All other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders |
