Cloud-based Networking Solutions

Moving media transport to the cloud

Broadcasters and content owners are moving more of their operations into public and private cloud. Distribution and contribution using the internet is an essential strategy of media organizations the world over and production in the cloud is now following suit.

Media processing is part of the suite of core services required for live production that can be hosted in the cloud today. Format conversion, multiviewing and video switching, graphics and playout are also primed for cloud and available as a-service. The network support for moving to the cloud include virtual routers, bandwidth management, protection mechanisms, firewalls, and network management software and is needed to create a seamless experience when managing live content to and from the cloud.

We’re now at the point where entire live production workflows are possible to create in the cloud but there are still challenges. Media organisations are moving at different paces and there is no one size fits all technical approach to cloud networking technology. That’s why partnering with an expert in the design and management of broadcast grade cloud computing networks can help your team navigate the journey.

There is no technology reason why a full live production pipeline cannot be built entirely in the cloud. With Nimbra Edge, media has the on-ramp to the cloud.

The Benefits of Cloud Based Networking

The benefits of moving media transport, to the cloud are clear and multi-faceted.

A principal benefit is cost. Cloud based networking allows media organizations to save huge fixed capital investment on inflexible bricks and mortar facilities by optimizing compute and storage resources in the cloud. By only renting services when needed the organization regains control of operational spend.

Without having to build and maintain equipment in-house, the complexities of integration are reduced while the ability to add and refresh new services is dramatically increased.

Broadcasters and media service providers want to move into the cloud for flexibility and speed. Dial up what you need on the day of demand and adjust capacity on-the-fly.

Changing from a custom on-premises environment to an open source environment, from siloed processes to using common tools, affords a much more consistent operational experience. The deterministic behaviour of systems in the cloud means broadcasters can predict exactly what operating and expanding a service, or launching a new one, should cost.

Add to that a microservices approach to development and deployment and broadcasters can upgrade equipment and introduce new features far faster, more economically and more flexibly than before.

The beauty of Nimbra Edge is that you don’t have to forklift everything into the cloud in one go. You can move some elements today and others tomorrow in a hybrid approach, to optimize the implementation cost. IP and cloud based networking can evolve as you go.

Cloud networking combined with remote production is also key to sustainability by dramatically driving down the costs of power, energy and transport.

Net Insight Cloud Networking Solutions

Nimbra Edge is a hyper-scale media cloud networking solution built to reduce your network complexity and to connect, secure, manage and consume content easily anywhere. Nimbra Edge is about simplicity from implementation to operations. It works with any cloud provider and can be deployed on prem or in the public cloud.

It is easy to connect. Ingest live feeds from any location or appliance, using any format and most vendor platforms. Nimbra Edge works with any professional media over IP protocol such as RIST, Zixi and SRT.

As management and ease of operation are key to flexible and cost efficient operations. Nimbra Edge have an intuitive UI serves provisioning, real-time monitoring and analytics insights of your content via automatic workflows. Protection is guaranteed with end-to-end encryption throughout your delivery as well as state of the art authentication, authorization and audit (ARQ, Hitless).

With Net Insight cloud networking solutions you can reduce transport costs by 70% compared to satellite. There’s no need to dedicate a room or a truck or commit rack space. Model the costs per hour and match metrics around traffic flows, bitrates and reliability closely to your KPIs.

Scale up and down cloud services or make use of the automated flows but always stay in control of your content streaming. Net Insight cloud networking solutions are the reliable, elastic backbone that delivers uninterrupted, pristine quality media over IP for premium broadcasters and enterprise clients worldwide.

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CASE STUDY

The Switch – Underpinning and powering network growth

Background

To be able to meet the ever increasing demand on flexible production and distribution services, such as remote production, The Swith took on the challenge to expand its production network.
To solve the above challenge, The Switch launched its new on-demand cloud-based production called MIMiC. It utilizes Nimbra Edge power to transmit the on-demand cloud-based production.

The challenge

The Switch needed to be able to control the multi locational network units by a centralized platform.
They did not want to be dependent upon local support, and at the same time have the full view of metrics and configurations. Being one of the professional players in the industry, The Switch had the experience of preemptively foresee the higher demand for video qualities such as the range from 1080p to 4K UHD.
This was finalized when The Switch planned to perform a big upgrade of its core infrastructure.

The solution

The solution to the challenge was to combine the multi faceted platform from Net Insight called Nimbra Edge which helped the Switch to launch its cloud-based global IP transmission product in the Summer of 2021. Utilizing the above solution, The Switch enabled the Sport event broadcasters, as well as other streaming providers to deliver their media to different locations around the world via the internet, cloud as well as its own private network.

The result

In the post-Covid aftermath, the delivery of higher capacity connectivity using fiber and cloud solution has been a perfect solution for live events and other production and broadcasting situations. The need for cloud-based hybrid managed infrastructure confirms the “Swiss Army Knife” usage of Nimbra Edge.
The higher demand for the combination of cost and flexibility of the remote broadcasting is here to stay, and The Switch has been able to solve both of the above challenges utilizing the Nimbra Edge platform.

“We continue our solid relationship with Net Insight for the development of our network since we aim to be the standardbearer for QoS and reliability around the world.”

ROBERT SZABO-ROWE
Senior Vice President
of Engineering and Product Management, The Switch

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