ArrowPoint Empowers Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment's Web Efforts.Business/Technology Editors ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 2000 Entertainment powerhouse deploys ArrowPoint Web switching Using a Web switch to route Web traffic to the server that can process it most efficiently. See Web switch. for its online film, TV and interactive TV Web services (1) Loosely, any online service delivered over the Web. Such usage appears in articles from non-technical sources, but not in IT-oriented publications, because definition #2 below describes the correct use of the term. Sony Pictures Digital Sony Pictures Digital, first known as Columbia TriStar Interactive, then Sony Pictures Interactive Network (or SPiN), is known as the digital website interactive creator for Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) that was established in 1997. Entertainment (SPDE SPDE Service Provider Delivery Environment SPDE stochastic partial differential equation SPDE Solid Phase Dynamic Extraction SPDE Solar Plasma Diagnostic Experiment SPDE Spedus Corp (stock symbol; New York, NY) ), which boasts some of Hollywood's top Internet sites, has deployed ArrowPoint Communications' (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : ARPT ARPT Airport ARPT Ateneo Rifle Pistol Team ARPT Adaptive Research Planning Teams ARPT Adenine Phosphoribosyltransferase ARPT Access Region Prediction Table ) Web Switches to manage Web content delivery for many of its key Web initiatives, including its main film, TV and cable Web sites. Although several competing solutions auditioned for the role, ArrowPoint's Web Switches landed the lead to manage SPDE's Web traffic. SPDE chose ArrowPoint's CS-800 - the industry's only generally available chassis-based Web switch - for its performance, availability and scalability. "As Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment continues to push the Web to deliver more rich entertainment, and as broadband net access continues its inexorable expansion, the time is right to turbo-charge our server infrastructure," said Tim Chambers, Senior Vice President of Technologies for SPDE, "All roads led to ArrowPoint as the highest performance solution during our evaluation process." SPDE last month installed ArrowPoint's CS-800 Content Smart(TM) Web Switches to manage page views and to distribute sophisticated Web traffic among its many dozens of servers. Named the number one studio Web site by Entertainment Weekly, and one of the best entertainment Web destinations by Yahoo Internet Life, SPDE's Web site attracts millions of visitors each month. ArrowPoint's Web switching solution supports all of the resource-intensive and dynamic content on the SPDE site, including one of the most active TV sites on the Web, DawsonsCreek.com, and "VIP's" official Web home. SPDE's Web site is also the Web home to upcoming summer blockbusters such as The Patriot starring Mel Gibson and Charlie's Angels starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. SPDE typically launches approximately four new Web sites each month to promote major movie releases. In addition, SPDE hosts a Web-based interactive TV site where hundreds of thousands of users play popular game shows including "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" while viewing the TV shows in real time. ArrowPoint solutions will also power new SPDE online ventures such as SoapCity. ArrowPoint's Web switches offer a more efficient use of SPDE's servers, and faster, more reliable access for the site's massive Internet audience. Enabling on-line entertainment SPDE is increasingly looking at server intensive efforts such as its "Dilbert on Demand," a streamed episode of "Dilbert," and "Santa Cruz," the SoapCity-hosted original soap opera directed by Betty Thomas and written by Carrie Fisher. To support such efforts, SPDE will rely on the scalability and performance of ArrowPoint's Web switches to create a powerful new delivery channel for fans of SPDE's rich media. With ArrowPoint, SPDE can deploy a content delivery service that moves content closer to the end-user by intelligently replicating frequently accessed data to Web servers or caches located at geographically dispersed data centers or content delivery nodes. This would allow SPDE to distribute their content automatically closer to the consumer, improving customer response time. ArrowPoint's unique content replication technology is one of the key features that attracted SPDE to the ArrowPoint solution, according to Chambers. ArrowPoint's Web switches can identify increased demand for specific content - such as the hot new Web site for the Sony Pictures film, Final Fantasy - and replicate the specific "hot" content to servers throughout the network, dynamically scaling the Web site in real time to handle these flash crowds. This ensures consistently good response times, even in the event of sudden spikes in demand. Only ArrowPoint's Web switches can direct Web traffic based on full visibility of lengthy URLs, host tags and cookies, no matter where in the hypertext transfer protocol See HTTP. (protocol) Hypertext Transfer Protocol - (HTTP) The client-server TCP/IP protocol used on the World-Wide Web for the exchange of HTML documents. It conventionally uses port 80. Latest version: HTTP 1.1, defined in RFC 2068, as of May 1997. (HTTP HTTP in full HyperText Transfer Protocol Standard application-level protocol used for exchanging files on the World Wide Web. HTTP runs on top of the TCP/IP protocol. ) header packet they are embedded. Competing solutions use IP addresses alone or limited URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. or cookie information to make load-balancing decisions. This traditional "content blind" approach stunts Web site architects' efforts to maximize server capacity and prioritize content delivery. "Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment was one of the first major Hollywood studios to embrace the Internet, and has been a leader in using the Web for delivery of multimedia content," said Cheng Wu, ArrowPoint CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and founder. "ArrowPoint worked with SPDE to develop an architecture that not only will allow them to scale, but that reinforces their ability to provide compelling on-line broadband entertainment." About Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment (SPDE), an operating unit operating unit A type of operating company that engages in transactions with outsiders and that is owned by another business. For example, in 1995 the stockholders of Capital Cities/ABC approved a $19 billion merger with the Walt Disney Company, whereupon of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE SPE - Software Practice and Experience ), oversees the activities of SPE's digital production and online assets which include Sony Pictures Imageworks Sony Pictures Imageworks, Inc. is an Academy Award-winning, state-of-the-art visual effects and character animation company. Individuals at the company have been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars for their work on Spider-Man 2 , Sony Online Entertainment Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) is a game development and game publishing division of Sony that is best known for creating massively multiplayer online games, including EverQuest, EverQuest II, PlanetSide, and Star Wars Galaxies and Columbia TriStar Interactive (www.spe.sony.com). SPDE focuses on three areas: 1) producing and developing of visual effects and computer-generated imaging (CGI CGI in full Common Gateway Interface. Specification by which a Web server passes data between itself and an application program. Typically, a Web user will make a request of the Web server, which in turn passes the request to a CGI application program. ), digital character animation, and original content for motion picture, television, online and PlayStation audiences; 2) tapping SPE's film and television libraries and its talent relationships to develop new forms of online content, games and interactive programming; and 3) leading SPE's efforts to provide video-on-demand, interactive television and the distribution of other forms of digital content and services over the emerging broadband networks. About ArrowPoint Communications ArrowPoint provides Content Smart(TM) Web switches and WebNS(TM) software that optimize e-commerce and content delivery. Powered with patented "content switching" technology, ArrowPoint solutions are used by e-commerce, content distribution and Web hosting industry leaders to deliver reliable transactions and prioritized services that build lasting, profitable customer relationships. On May 5, 2000, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO CSCO Cisco Systems Incorporated (stock symbol) CSCO Chief Supply Chain Officer ) announced a definitive agreement to purchase ArrowPoint for $5.7 billion. ArrowPoint is headquartered in Acton, Mass., with worldwide operations throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. For more information, call 978.206.3000 or visit the company Web site at www.arrowpoint.com. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion