GDC: CacheLogic launches new CDN solution
British technology firm CacheLogic has announced the launch of a new content delivery system aimed at distributing game content, patches and demos rapidly and cost-effectively.
Called VelociX for Games, the system is a hybrid of client-server download and peer-to-peer technologies, which is specifically optimised for the kinds of large files which games companies routinely need to distribute to users.
VelociX is built on top of CacheLogic's Asset Delivery Framework, a platform which provides publishers not only with guaranteed delivery of content, but also with predictable costs and detailed billing and reporting.
The major advantage of using peer to peer technology for game content, of course, is that it scales seamlessly to accommodate peak demand; in fact, due to the nature of the system, users actually get faster downloads when there's a major spike in demand, at no additional bandwidth cost to the content publisher.
CacheLogic's network takes advantage of this, and allows publishers to distribute content to large numbers of users at a fixed cost - making it into an economical way of delivering things like large patches to a wide base of customers.
Several major games already use peer to peer technology to distribute their patches - most notably World of Warcraft, which distributes patches to its 8.5 million subscribers using a version of the BitTorrent system. Given the size of WoW's patches and of its user-base, the cost savings to Blizzard from this system are undoubtedly enormous.
VelociX adds even more fine tuning to this kind of system - even to the extent of allowing users to make a micro-payment in return for faster download speeds on a piece of content.
"VelociX for Games is the next-generation of CDN, providing game publishers with all the tools, speed and control they need to really generate value for their users while simultaneously controlling costs - it's a win for everyone," according to CacheLogic CTO Andrew Parker. "By fusing P2P technology into our CDN, we can deliver unprecedented speed with predictable cost, and we are very excited to be showcasing VelociX at GDC."