CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—In a sign that internet traffic just keeps exploding, Akamai has set a new company record with web traffic delivered across its edge network peaking at 250 terabits per second (Tbps).
A high-profile sporting event and major video game download were the primary drivers, Akamai reported in a blog post.
By way of context, Akamai noted that at 250 Tbps would allow a user to download every feature film ever made in 37 seconds. “Of course, it would take 51 straight years of nonstop viewing to watch them all,” the blog post added.
The 250Tbps milestone came barely 13 months after Akamai passed 200Tbps for the first time. In October of 2019, the company passed the 100 Tbps milestone.
When the company passed the 200 Tbps traffic record, it asked employees to submit idea of how to explain those mind boggling numbers. After reviewing many submissions, the judges selected the film analogy used here from Michal Janusinski, a senior infrastructure operations analyst based in the Akamai Krakow office.
It is now asking people for an appropriate analogy when they reach the 300Tbps milestone. Ideas can be submitted here.
“Every feature film ever made” comparison was based on an IMDb search of all feature films released since January 1, 1860, with a minimum run time of 60 minutes (268,000). The company assumed an average run time of 100 minutes and approximate size of 4GB at full HD quality.
