Content Delivery Service (CDS) FAQs
General Information
What is the benefit of the Content Delivery Service?
The research and education community relies on content providers for various internet-based services that are essential for research and scientific discovery. CDS provides reliable, high-speed access to content providers that serve Canadian research and education institutions, resulting in significant cost savings for internet transit. CDS is available to institutions connected to the CANARIE Network via the NREN.
How is the peering relationship for the Content Delivery Service established?
The peering relationship with a Content Provider can be established either through public internet exchanges points (IXPs) or private links. The current list of IXPs connected to the CDS network is available here.
How is this service delivered?
CDS is delivered on a dedicated network; CANARIE’s CDS Network is logically separate from the CANARIE Network that provides research and education connectivity services.
Which content providers does CANARIE peer with?
CANARIE peers with Content Providers who support the research and education community. The current list of content providers is available here.
Does CANARIE monitor the Content Delivery Service traffic?
Yes. CDS traffic is monitored and a real-time view is available on the CDS Network Map.
Are there any costs associated with the Content Delivery Service?
No, there is no cost to the user of the service or the provider of the content.
Eligibility & Evaluation
Do I require access to the CANARIE Network to benefit from the service?
Yes, only organizations currently connected to the CANARIE Network via the NREN can benefit from CDS.
Who can apply to request the addition of new services or content?
Anyone interested in a service/content can submit a request.
Which content providers can offer services?
The services/content offered by the content provider must be deemed valuable to Canada’s research and education community.
What are the criteria for evaluating the applications?
Each request is assessed according to its compliance with CANARIE’s Content Peering Policy, as well as its technical and cost feasibility. Once a peering request is deemed to comply with the Policy, it is assessed for its technical feasibility.
Technical Questions
Do I need to AS-prepend route announcements to my commodity providers?
You most likely do. CANARIE introduces a single AS6509 between the peers, and the NREN partner(s)/Shared Services Canada add their own AS number to the AS-path. In general, prepending your own AS number three or four times in announcements to your ISP should ensure that inbound traffic prefers the content delivery service over other links.
Can I select which content providers to exchange traffic with?
No, such an option is not currently supported.
Will Content Delivery Service reduce my commodity internet usage?
A certain percentage of your commodity internet traffic will be off-loaded to the Content Delivery Service. The percentage will vary for each user and is predominantly dependent on traffic patterns.
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