Customer Story
Cumberland Connect saves $3,000 monthly
in upstream provider costs with Netskrt
Summary
- US-based ISP Cumberland Connect saves $3,000 monthly in estimated upstream service provider costs with Netskrt’s Last-Mile CDN.
- Using Netskrt, Cumberland Connect offloads over 10% of its uplink traffic during peak streaming.
- Netskrt’s multi-tenant cache and fully managed caching service were key factors in Cumberland Connect’s decision to try Netskrt.
- Deploying Netskrt’s CDN in their network has added virtually zero additional tasks to the Cumberland Connect team’s to-do list.
The ISP: Cumberland Connect
“I don’t know of any competitor doing full turnkey, multi-tenant hardware like this. Netskrt was a slam dunk for me.”
Live Streaming Challenges
Michael Neverdusky, Network Operations Manager at Cumberland Connect, has been in the internet business for over 18 years. To help frame Cumberland Connect’s current business challenges, he recalls when networks delivered linear video using CATV or IPTV technologies, long before the streaming services we know today became widely available. With linear video, networks could transmit a single data stream and send it to anyone requesting it, “I only had to push a stream to my edge switch once, and then it would be replicated and sent out to subscribers from there,” he says.
The downside for consumers, however, was that TV programs were only available at specific timeslots. Then, the rise of streaming platforms changed everything. Now, every stream must travel from an upstream IX or peering point; if 1000 subscribers request the same live stream, Cumberland Connect pushes 1000 streams through their network. Neverdusky explains, “Every single stream that somebody requests has to make its way from the [upstream] data center all the way through our network. We lost the efficiency of being able to do stream replication at the edge of our network.”
To make matters more challenging, Cumberland Connect didn’t have direct access to a peering data center. “Even though we’re right outside Nashville, we’d have to go through Chicago, Atlanta, or Dallas to access a big data peering center,” Neverdusky says, “The resources to get a long pipe, put equipment in, and acquire collocation space, power, and connectivity, would’ve lost us money.”
Like many rural ISPs who face a similar challenge, Cumberland Connect had little choice but to pay upstream providers for 20Gbps or more of traffic at peak – a cost incurred with increasing regularity, especially during football season. “Our major cost for internet, after we build it, is paying upstream providers for connectivity,” admits Neverdusky
“Our major cost for internet, after we build it, is paying upstream providers for connectivity – and that’s where CDNs come in.”
The Goal: Bringing Content Closer to the ISP Network
Between the added costs of live streaming traffic and the more expensive option of building pipes to big data centers, Cumberland Connect was eager for a better solution. Neverdusky says, “Our goal has always been to get the content into our network. The closer we get [content] to our network, the less money we have to pay upstream providers.”
Cumberland Connect was keen to use CDNs in their network to achieve this goal. “For smaller regional ISPs that don’t have good connectivity, having CDNs in your network is like being in a data center and doing the peering, except much more cost-effective and efficient,” says Neverdusky.
The Cumberland Connect team knew that most CDNs are service-specific and typically require individual licensing contracts. While specialized CDNs aren’t as common, the ones the team found didn’t have sufficient bandwidth, nor were they fully managed. Neverdusky explains, “I found out their boxes don’t even have 100Gbps…You’ve got to have a 100Gbps box nowadays.”
Although Cumberland Connect was happy to place caches for different providers in its network, the ultimate dream scenario was to find a multi-tenant cache with contracts already in place.
“For smaller regional ISPs that don’t have good connectivity, having CDNs in your network is like being in a data center and doing the peering, except much more cost-effective and efficient.”
Choosing Netskrt’s CDN
Before trying Netskrt, Cumberland Connect paid for upstream capacity, often at peak rates, to accommodate live sports streaming events scheduled during peak hours. The idea of building a long data center pipe for peering wasn’t feasible, and the toil of continuously pulling individual streams through their network wasn’t ideal for their growing subscriber base. Thankfully, Netskrt presented an even better and more cost-effective way to address their needs.
Recalling the days of linear video, Cumberland Connect loved the idea of sending a single stream to the Netskrt appliance and replicating streams on-site. Moreover, the business advantage was immediately apparent. “I was already familiar with caches and knew the benefits of offloading our peak,” says Neverdusky. Not only could Netskrt’s solution simplify their data transmission, but it could also significantly reduce one of their biggest recurring costs.
Netskrt’s multi-tenant approach was another major selling point. “I also liked that Netskrt continues to bring other [streaming] providers into the fold,” Neverdusky continues, “Any [streamer] can load their content onto our Netskrt cache, and we can serve it straight off the same box instead of hitting our cash registers upstream. Plus, we no longer need to have all these different boxes.”
Lastly, Netskrt’s fully managed, turnkey solution was an excellent fit for their small, busy team. “We’re coming up on 40,000 subscribers pretty soon. I’ve got a lot to do, so constantly tinkering with a box isn’t ideal,” Neverdusky adds, “Other than renewing our contract, I haven’t had to interact with Netskrt. It just works and does its thing.”
Neverdusky admits that initially, he hadn’t heard about Netskrt or even much like it on the market, “I questioned why streaming platforms wouldn’t do this themselves.” Like many ISPs, Cumberland Connect assumed that content providers only use their own CDNs, but this is not the norm outside of Netflix. For Neverdusky, taking a chance on Netskrt’s specialized, full-scale CDN was savvy, “Netskrt does it right. We give them connectivity; they manage the box and save us bandwidth. That’s the relationship we’re looking for.”
“Small providers want full turnkey. Netskrt does it right. We give them connectivity; they manage the box and save us bandwidth. That’s the relationship we’re looking for.”
The Result
Beyond cost savings, the Cumberland Connect team says the key benefit of Netskrt’s CDN is that it hasn’t added anything to their list of responsibilities. “Other than the one-time setup, there’s no monthly task to manage or anything like that. It’s hands-off.” When asked whether they’d recommend Netskrt to other service providers, Neverdusky’s message is clear: “I don’t know why anybody would say no. Do you like paying for bandwidth? Or do you want to save money? Netskrt should be a slam dunk.”
“I don’t know why anybody would say no. Do you like paying for bandwidth? Or do you want to save money? Netskrt should be a slam dunk.”
