August 22, 2008
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The Tao of Beach Volleyball
By Robert Carroll
Comments (1)
OK. I admit it. For several nights this week, I became an ardent fan of beach volleyball—a sport I’d never even watched before. And if you’re really honest with yourself, I don’t believe I’m the only fan out there.
The funny thing is that the biggest spikes weren’t happening on the volleyball courts in Beijing. They were actually happening on the Internet. Traffic spikes went through the roof. Yes, NBC Television is doing a fine job covering the Olympics for those of us who like to watch events with the most audience appeal. But the Web is the destination of choice for everyone else viewing more arcane events not covered in prime time. Or for those like me that revisit (over and over again) specific moments of amazing athletic prowess.
There is another factor at play here. Many employees are actually watching streaming video of the Olympics at work. While I don’t fall into this category (har-har), these multi-tasking workers are responsible for even bigger spikes. According to Wall St. Journal blogger, Ben Worthen, the CIO at Brunswick (a major sporting goods manufacturer) was actually worried that employees surfing the Olympics would bring down his whole network.
So what’s the gist of this post?
**The Internet now allows us to experience the totality of the Olympics wherever and whenever we want it.
**Whether you’re publishing content or consuming it, we’ve all become much more dependent on network infrastructures that scale up right along with events that draw millions of viewers.
I’m a big proponent of a shared infrastructure/multi-tenant architecture that allows content producers’ sites to ramp up instantaneously when demand blasts through the roof. This not only ensures an uninterrupted and growing revenue stream for the suits, it also guarantees an optimal experience for consumers (no brown outs, slow performance, or clunky video streaming).
Now with the Olympics almost over, content-rich sites will face an even bigger onslaught: The Election of 2008. Not limited to a single television network or website, mass quantities of election coverage will proliferate across the Internet.
Similar to beach volleyball, I won’t miss a single moment of this monumental election. But like all consumers—regardless of traffic spikes—my expectations will remain high. And, if you’re like me, you’ll demand a fast and smooth viewing experience on a network that scales according to your individual needs—and the needs of millions of fellow viewers worldwide.
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Posted by test | 13 November 2008 at 3:58PM