For the most demanding end-users in the world, G-Core Labs set out to build the most advanced content delivery network in the world. But to do it, they would need to balance high-performance on a massive scale with the flexibility to adapt to unpredictable growth and demand.
G-Core Labs know all about the world of massive multiplayer online gaming. With global hits such as World of Tanks, they understand there are no more demanding end-users than gamers: bad ping kills the game and they don’t go quietly.
In 2011, they started to build their own content delivery platform to meet these demands. This would eventually evolve into the G-Core Labs platform. It was clear that success relied on meeting demand on two levels: Firstly, performance in terms of low latency and ultra reliability were non-negotiable. If their end-users even noticed their connection, they lost.
Secondly, to adapt to fluctuating demand and rapid, unpredictable growth – in an industry where accurate forecasting can be only be done in hindsight – they would need a great deal of flexibility and responsiveness from their connectivity partners.
In 2012, Arelion was bought in to provide IP Transit. From there, it’s fair to say things escalated rather quickly. In 2013 G-Core Labs was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for the “Most Players Online Simultaneously on one MOG Server”. By 2014, their network was serving up to 1,114,000 online gamers simultaneously. In parallel, the G-Core Labs platform was also delivering specialist high-load CDN services to other high-demand and high-value online segments.
As demand grew, so did the partnership. Arelion connected G-Core Labs’s global offices with an L2 VPN Ethernet solution and connected their datacenters with an EVPL Ethernet solution.
As G-Core Labs’s network grew – to 41 PoPs on four continents – traffic volume skyrocketed. As the first to offer 100G on both sides of the Atlantic, Arelion was able to help G-Core Labs smoothly scale up to a flexible 100G network.
Today, G-Core Labs supports major content and application providers all over the world, including Wargaming, Beeline, AdNow, Hitbox and Rutube. To support them, Arelion supplies more than 30 IP ports across Europe, the United States and Asia, including 100G in multiple locations. In addition to an array of 10 and 100G wavelength services, G-Core Labs also utilizes Arelion's colocation facilities in a number of European and US cities.
But beyond the specs, the key to balancing massive with nimble has been the strong relationship between G-Core Labs and their Arelion account manager.
“Our Account Manager supports us in the best way we can imagine, and embodies the fast response, flexibility and understanding we expect from Arelion”, says Andre Reitenbach, CEO of G-Core Labs.
As for the end users, well, they don’t even notice – and that’s a great thing. G-Core Labs has built a global CDN that connects content from all over the world as if it’s in the next room. It’s a testament to the same principle we at Arelion live by: “Power to the User.”
It boils down to this: when end users take global connectivity totally for granted, we know we’re doing our job.
