The Amount of the Requests
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) is considered to be the largest and the most influential multimedia. ESPN is the owner of the ESPN.com that provides the users with the access to sports programs, relevant information, and other data that are at the client’s disposal. The information is available for almost 90 million of subscribers. According to the researchers, in 2013, the website attracted almost 60 million of users. ESPN receives over ten thousand of requests per second. The amount of users was estimated due to the web page caching. The network receives over ten thousand of requests every second; it is a tendency. I do not profess to be an expert regarding the subject, but I am strongly convinced that there are several peaks and valleys; however, an average number is estimated by the company. The peak period is when the clients send more requests than usually, and it may depend on the daytime or some sporting events.
ESPN and Personal Information
The company developed the approach that has some difficulties with the personalized content. As the matter of fact, the web page caching is critical to the success of the multimedia. The personal information should be stored on its databases to provide the customers with the immediate access towards the information they are interested in. Web page caching would not be reliable to handle the loads as ESPN has too many users in a second. More than ten thousand of clients during events send requests that should get the immediate response. It is the most difficult part of the work. However, ESPN has developed the system that handles hundreds of gigabytes of information and provides the users with the safe work.
The Amount of Information
ESPN need to store over ten million of users. It worth stating, that an average user has around 5 kilobytes of data, and that is, according to the statistics, the company should handle more than two hundred gigabytes of data. It would be not enough to use a single JVM, or two, or even three. The things are much more complicated. Having a number of servers, ESPN can control the level of SPU, which is a crucial factor while serving so many clients. ESPN can scale up or down the number of servers, and the work of ESPN.com will not face challenges. In the case, one server does not work, the other ones compensate it.
Platform
As the matter of fact, in order to deal with the information, ESPN developed the innovative system, and it functions for the mobile websites, soccer.net, and deportes.net. The system is centered not only on personalization but similar signs on as well. The ESPN.com remembers the preferences of the user. The same information will appear on any electronic device. Moreover, the soccer.net and deportes.net will also remember the user’s preferences. The developers of ESPN aim to track the interests of the customers and reflect their preferences on other electronic gadgets and, in addition, on the websites that they own, namely soccer.net and deportes.net. The problem is that the amount of information is impressively big. Furthermore, the system should use appropriate methods to get the needed information quickly and not to increase the SPU level.
Key Components in ESPN’s Solution
ESPN uses the system of the personalization DB. The system is functioning due to two components, namely the grid and the composer. A number of servers combine into the grid. Due to the development of such approach, ESPN functions very fast and provides the clients with the instant results. The composer brings everything together. Thousands of requests come in the composer. The composer is responsible for interaction with the grid. It chooses the needed information from the grid regarding the preferences of the user. It should be pointed out that the process takes milliseconds. Composer gets the information concerning the interests of the client. The grid is functioning due to twenty services. However, in the case some services are not needed, ESPN can turn them off, and the users will not notice it as the performance of the website will not change. The SPU level always stays below five percents. Servers handle the amount of requests with ease. The system of servers is very flexible, and it is a competitive advantage of ESPN.
Scalability
Scalability is an essential factor that ESPN uses in the work. The priority of the company is to provide the users of the web site with the fast delivery service. The work of ESPN is directed to achieve this objective. The company achieved these results in three months. It seems unbelievable as the system handles more than two hundred gigabytes of information and provides the clients with instant response. Serving as many clients as possible and providing them with the high-quality service is the primary objective of the company. ESPN gives the opportunity for the clients to enjoy service and have an excellent opportunity to get access to the information based on the preferences of the users. To serve more visitors and respond to the requests immediately, the company should focus on scalability.