When Milliseconds Matter: Teaching the Internet New Tricks

Imagine a world where the mere blink of an eye is considered an unacceptable delay. Self-driving cars navigate complex city intersections, automated systems operate robotic factories without servers on the factory floor, and immersive virtual reality experiences transport users to meticulously rendered worlds. This is the realm of real-time applications, demanding network performance that cannot tolerate the lag and jitter of the internet we know today.

I am here to debunk the industry pundits who claim that today’s internet is plenty fast and explain how edge networks will be a critical part of making the internet work for modern applications.

The Defining Magic of the Internet

The defining magic of the Internet lies in its simplicity. Core protocols like TCP/IP and BGP establish fundamental rules for the way data is packaged and routed, creating a language of connectivity that transcends machines and networks. With an IP address in hand, the routing happens almost invisibly. We hold a simple faith that once sent, our data will find its destination, and we don’t need to have opinions about the routes our bits and bytes traverse.

Performance Matters Even More Today

However, there is an implicit opinion buried in our lack of awareness—we actually care deeply about performance. The speed at which our websites load, the smoothness of our streaming video, the responsiveness of our online interactions – all of these rely upon the underlying network. Those seemingly opinion-less interactions mask a yearning for a faster, more responsive internet experience.

Today’s internet emerged from a centralized model. Data travels “north/south” from core-to-edge over a vast array of networks, where most journeys trust in the underlying routing protocols to pick the best routes. However, we now have connected applications that rely on a real-time or near-real time network. We've entered a new era where performance matters more than ever, and we are becoming increasingly opinionated about the highways on which our data travels.

Early hints of route optimizations came as services like video streaming and content delivery networks sought to optimize their global reach. Companies realized that selecting specific routes and networks could dramatically improve the quality of the end-user experience. These improvements were tangible. A viewer in Asia streaming a Hollywood blockbuster might enjoy a smoother, less interrupted experience because the service provider orchestrated data delivery via strategic undersea cables, ensuring reduced lag and enhanced picture quality. What once appeared as the automatic workings of the internet turned out to be finely tuned by engineers seeking a competitive edge.

As applications become increasingly latency-sensitive and demand real-time responses, our ability to influence routing directly impacts the fundamental viability of new technologies. Think of self-driving cars coordinating their movements in dense urban environments – a split-second delay can be the difference between smooth traffic flow and disastrous consequences. Here, the stakes of internet performance reach far beyond user comfort and delve into safety and the very fabric of future cities.

The Fix: Edge Networks

The revolution towards precisely controlled internet performance depends on edge networks that implement the following key technologies:

• Software-defined networking (SDN)
• Edge Interconnection?
• Real-Time Observability
• Artificial Intelligence

Software-defined networking (SDN) improves internet routing by detaching the task of routing decisions from the raw physical hardware of switches and routers. SDN transforms networks into programmable entities, where routing logic can be adjusted on the fly by automated and intelligent systems. This ability to reconfigure network paths without physically re-cabling data centers or network hubs paves the way for rapid, proactive route adaptations.

Edge interconnection is one of the natural byproducts of software-defined networking, which can improve internet routes by creating shorter paths across multiple networks. Today’s regional IXPs (Internet Exchange Points) are few and far between and are mostly controlled by large private entities that have little incentive to disaggregate their exchange points.

While regional IXPs offer convenience, they introduce intolerable delays and costs that get in the way of high-performance applications. With traditional networks, a video stream from a smart city camera may have to travel over hundreds of miles to a distant IXP only to be routed back to its city of origin for analysis. The vestigial “tromboning” adds unnecessary delay to the delivery and analysis of the camera data. With edge interconnection, however, that video can reach its processing destination within that same city, potentially mere milliseconds after being captured.

With pervasive edge interconnection, we witness a fundamental transformation in the way data gets routed. Distributed exchange points spring up like new intersections in a city, strategically positioned where network traffic naturally originates or needs to go. Sensors embedded in lamp posts, smart city cameras monitoring traffic flow, and robots operating on the factory floor – all gain localized points for the direct exchange of information. This decentralized approach to internetworking dramatically shortens the distance data needs to travel, slashing transmission latency.

To make good routing decisions, you need real-time observability of the network. The pursuit of real-time response requires extensive, up-to-the-second data and detailed comprehension of the current network state, which is accomplished through specialized services that monitor traffic, network connections, and collect data from the underlying physical systems.

Artificial Intelligence also takes center stage. With machine learning, vast repositories of data on network behavior can be analyzed to identify real-time patterns and predict potential trouble spots. But AI isn't just about reacting to existing conditions; it becomes a system for continuous improvement. AI routing systems can continuously learn from past routes, network performance data, and user demand. AI-driven edge networks are evolving into master choreographers of data paths to guarantee the coveted sub-second responses required by some applications.

Going Beyond Latency

The improvements delivered by edge networks go beyond simply reducing latency. They also improve reliability, increases competition and creates new business dynamics. Here’s how:

• Improved Reliability: Decentralized exchange points create redundant pathways for traffic. If one route becomes congested or experiences an outage, edge interconnection provides the agility to shift data flows to alternative paths in real-time. This is crucial for applications where uninterrupted service is a matter of safety or mission-critical operation.
• Increased Competition: Edge networks with pervasive edge interconnection brings new network providers and specialized services into the arena. This increased competition leads to greater choice, enabling better performance at more compelling costs.?
• New Business Dynamics: The ability to collect data from distributed sources, process it, and take corrective action immediately becomes a core competency for businesses across industries. Data becomes currency. A healthcare company analyzing streams of live health data, or a manufacturer implementing proactive equipment maintenance, gains competitive advantage, thanks to the performance improvements granted by edge networks.

The impact of these changes ripples far beyond the tech industry. Self-driving cars, guided by real-time data exchange with road infrastructure, transform urban landscapes and revolutionize transportation safety. Telemedicine allows top specialists to deliver care virtually, improving patient outcomes and operational efficiency. Even AR and VR move from niche toys to full-fledged social, entertainment and business platforms, all thanks to the seamless experience driven by edge-powered networks.

In a world driven by real-time interactions, the centralized internet model simply cannot provide the speed and adaptability necessary. Edge networks unlock a new model for a low-latency internet, laying the foundation for innovations that are not merely faster iterations of past experiences, but revolutionary applications that fundamentally alter how we live, work, and connect.