Opera Rocket Optimizer Concepts

F5 Agility KyivNovember 27th 2014

Agenda

• Video and images web content optimization concepts

• Opera Rocket Optimizer solution based on F5 Steering and PEM

• Opera Rocket Marketer - Policy based Advertisement content

insertion

F5 Agility Kyiv, November 27th 2014

Video optimization fundamentals

Rocket Optimizer

Content consumption on Smartphones

Source: Milward Brown AdReaction, 2014

Smartphones continue

to grow in use and is

now a significant

source of media

content consumption

by users.

Why is Optimization Needed?

• Low effective data throughput caused by massive growth, cell-site congestion, network

congestion or far-cell conditions can lead to this: a low Quality of Experience.

• Low Video QoE through video stalling and buffering especially sensitive: users typically

blame the network – not the publisher for not offering appropriately sized content

• For the user, the core need is to enable video traffic to flow freely through the network to

achieve a fast start and continuous playing.

• For the network, it is two-fold, to prevent radio network saturation, and prevent video

abandonment which reduces revenue and increases dis-satisfaction with the network

The pressure on mobile networks by consumption of video by smartphones is rapidly increasing.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Optimization: Revenue Impact and ProtectionRevenue lost by unplayable streams

*Data not mobile specific

Huge drop-off

when video stalls

– Lost revenue

Better QoE and

Revenue with

optimization

Min

ute

s p

er

Vie

wer

Majority of views

were NOT impacted

Majority of views were

impacted by Stalling

Majority of views

were Lo Res

Source:

28.4

9.5

23.0

Optimization: Revenue Impact and Protection

• If original video can be delivered smoothly,

don’t optimize and deliver original video

• If video cannot be delivered smoothly,

deliver optimized video

Revenue protected by surgical intervention

Capacity

Dem

and

Capacity

Dem

and

Pass-through

Revenue is protected as maximum data consumption is maintained

The Optimization Process

Reduces Network CongestionAllows traffic to flow – gets the video ‘smoothly through the pipe’.

Reduces video start time and stallingAlleviates user frustration and decreases abandon rate.

Increases Quality of Experience (QoE)Users continue consuming data and don’t require extra customer support or churn away.

Reduces video file sizeSmaller video file sizes, whilst maintaining a high visual quality – doesn’t detract from enjoying the video.

What does optimization do?

Optimization: The Importance of Video QoEOptimization is by definition a trade-off between QoE and visual quality

Each video can only be at *1* point along the scale…

Further left: Higher QoE but lower visual quality - minimal or no interruption

Further right: Higher visual quality, but lower QoE – stalling happens

Quality of

Experience

Visual

Quality

Optimization: The Importance of Video QoEWhy QoE is more important than video quality

• Smooth playback is far more preferable than slightly reduced detail. Unbroken audio is essential!

• The typical user is focussed on the video content, i.e. the action and dialog. The human brain

naturally compensates for some loss of video quality.

• Lower video quality is much less noticeable on small mobile screens, but interruption of play is

noticeable regardless of screen size.

What the phone does with video (480p & up)The phone has an influence on how video is presented

Whatever resolution video the phone

receives, it will re-size it to fit the

screen.

If a 360p sized phone receives a 480p,

720p or 1080p video, it will throw away

the extra data, meaning the radio

network has unnecessarily transmitted

that data, adding to congestion.

The resulting video quality will be no

better than if the video had been

optimized to 360p before sending.

720p HD Video

480p HQ Video

360p SD Video

*Wasted Data (without Optimization)

480p* 720p*

• Video is encoded into multiple streams, and each stream is made up of short (~10 sec) segments

• The manifest contains the available streams, with one entry for each available bitrate

• Phone tries to request highest bitrate stream, but drops to a lower bitrate if it detects delivery is too slow.

• Optimization removes the undeliverable bitrate options, or enforces the pacing bitrate if the manifest is encrypted.

• A single file that is delivered via a standard HTTP request.

• Optimization transcodes this to match the phone attributes and available network bandwidth, ensuring best QoE.

Video Delivery: Progressive HTTP and ABRThe two video delivery methodologies, and how they differ.

Video File

Metadata: Bitrate, width, height, length, size, codec(s)

Man

ifes

t Index

Index

Index

…

Segment

…

Segment

…

Segment

…Segment

…

Segment

…

……

……

2400 kbps

1200 kbps

250 kbps

…

Segment Segment Segment Segment Segment

Segment Segment Segment Segment Segment

HTTP Progressive

Adaptive Bitrate (ABR)

Rocket

Controller

Steering

Node

Cloud Platform

Rocket

Marketer

(Interstitials)

GGSN/

PGW

PDSN

F5 - Traffic Steering and

Policy Enforcement with

PEM +TCP & Http Optimization

Device Clients

Internet

API

Opera Skyfire Virtualized Network

Functions Rocket

Optimizer,

Cache

Rocket

Insights, BI

Opera Skyfire Application Suite

Gx

PCRF

Network Supported• 2G/3G/4G/WiMAX• Managed WiFi• IP Broadband• PPPoE• xDSL

Flow Inspection

Rocket OptimizerGeneral overview

Business needs:

• Better management of the network resources (adding virtual capacity by traffic optimization)

• Increase data revenues by delivering a better QoE to end-users.

Key aspects of the solution:

• Clientless solution

• 2-tier architecture allowing flexible deployment

(centralized, distributed, hybrid, before/after the

cache, etc)

• Virtualization ready

• Scale only for the portion of traffic that needs

optimization

• Dynamic optimization schemes based on:

• RAN Congestion awareness with WNG

• Dynamic user QoE based on L7

measurements

• Device-awareness

• Media-awareness

• Can leverage existing network components

Video Delivery: Progressive HTTPTranscoding is the optimization methodology

• The Controller determines the video type and redirects the client device to the Optimizer

• The Optimizer fetches the video and performs the transcoding process

MobileGGSN

Controller

Optimizer

Web Site

Controller responds with Redirect to Optimizer

Optimizer responds with optimized video

Video Delivery: Adaptive Bitrate (ABR)Manifest modification and pacing is the optimization methodology

• The video manifest contains the bitrates available from the web site

• The Controller removes the higher bitrates that it knows cannot be delivered in the available

bandwidth

MobileGGSN

Controller

Web Site

Controller removes undeliverable bitstreams

& responds with modified manifest

Mobile requests video using

remaining available bitstreams

What Optimization for QoE AchievesOptimization provides the goals of customer satisfaction, retention and protected revenue, through reduced stall and abandonment rates.

For the user, having video start quickly and play continuously means that more video

will be consumed, a strong indicator of customer satisfaction with the service. It also

maximises revenue for the operator, lowers care costs and reduces churn.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324Stal

ls f

or

10

00

Ses

sio

ns

(SP

M)

Time of Day

Video Stalling Rate

Without Skyfire With Skyfire

Targeted video compressionCustomizable on operator’s request

By network type By time of day By size of file

Solution:

Video compressed only when

user is on a network of poorer

quality (2G, 3G), but not on 4G

and WiFi

Benefits:

• Better user experience

(less buffering) on poorer

networks.

• On other types of networks,

user can view only

uncompressed mobile

video

Solution:

Video compression applied

only during defined hours, e.g.

peak hours.

Benefits:

• Better user experience

(less buffering) during peak

hours.

• Outside defined hours no

video compression

• Less problems to operator

with congested network

during peak hours

Solution:

Video compression applied

only to video files smaller than

15MB or other defined value.

Benefits:

• Operator’s revenue is

protected for larger

downloads, also during

peak hours and

irrespective of network type

Cell Site Video Capacity

No Optimization

19

Cell Site Video Capacity

Medium Optimization

2X More Video Sessions

Optimized utilization of

access resources and

improved Video QoE

Stalling

Start Time

Videos/Unit

of Capex

Network

Congestion

Rocket Optimizer Platform Values for Mobile Operator

Device Type Management & ProfilingWhatever the device type, the user’s QoE is important. Profiling by type is critical.

The different device types.

• Mobile

• Tablet

• Desktop (which includes laptop)

Profiling the optimization to each of these device types is important to achieving the

best QoE for the user.

• Mobile - Small screen and capable of achieving high optimization without

sacrificing QoE.

• Tablet - Larger screen device that demands less optimization, but often does not

need full HD.

• Desktop - Users require higher visual quality, and increasingly devices have

1080p screens.

Device Identification Using IMEIIMEI. The definitive mobile equipment identifier

• Mobile phones and tablets contain a unique IMEI has 16 digits in 3 groups

For example: For a Samsung GT-I9505 (S4)

• The Type Allocation Code, or TAC, is specific to the device model, so achieves accurate device

identification and therefore optimization profile assignment.

• Using TAC increases reliability of device type profiling over using just User Agent.

Type Allocation Code (TAC) Serial Number Versi

on

3 5 5 1 7 2 0 5 3 7 2 1 0 4 0 1

Pre-filter Rules: Video

Content-Type Comment Example

video/* All video types All

*mpegurl*

Support for iOS Apple HLS

streaming

Matches for example:

application/x-mpegURL

CNN

application/smil* Support for Akamai HD Foxnews, Vevo, CNN

Content-Size Comment Example

Content-Length > 1MBCatch-all.

Reason: many video sites use text/plainAll

Content-Length = 2 Support for iOS devices.

Cnn.com

Foxnews

Vevo

Content-Range = bytes 0-1/2 Support for iOS devices As above…

Mobile App /

Browser

Origin Server

TimeLatency

Latency

Latency

Latency

A web page load with about 100 objects generates at least 100 round-trips

LAN: 100/2 x 1 ms = 50 ms Mobile: 100/2 x 250 ms = 12.5 seconds!

Chatty Apps & Latency Perception = slow

250 ms

250 ms

250 ms

250 ms

Request Intercept, Image Optimized

Controller Content

HTTP GET

image Suspected

In Request Path

e.g. *.jpg, *.png etc

Inspect Image

Min. Compression passed

Optimize Image

HTTP GET

API: Pass Image

HTTP RESPONSE

w. Image

HTTP GET

Optimization Cluster

Cloud F5

Optimized Image

1

2

4

7

Optimized Image

Shows

5

Is Image?

Is larger then tiny?

(>5k)

6

8

Regional F5

API: Optimized Image

Rocket Marketer

Rocket Marketer

Business needs:

• Delivers contextual messages into the browsing navigation of end-

users to promote Operator’s services

• Monetize the audience via publishing of ads and messages

Key aspects of the solution:

• Clientless solution, working transparently with

any browsers over HTTP

• Interstitials can even be displayed while in

HTTPS

• Can be deployed on top of Rocket Platform,

based on the same architecture (Rocket

Controller deciding whether a message should

be inserted or not into the browsing flow)

• Contextual business logic

What is Rocket MarketerFor users? A tap on the shoulder - interesting, relevant, timely

● Surfacing information that is relevant to the user in a timely

manner

– Interstitial – relevant to the user

– JS injection – relevant to the user and the location

– Think “push notification for browser”

● Reading a product review on CNN? Alert the user it’s available

on Amazon for $29

● Surfing the web from an airport? Alert the user they can

upgrade to data roaming for $5

What is Rocket Marketer?For Sales? Packaged experiences

● Entry points are based on triggers and logic

– Location, user information, frequency cap, current URL, etc.

● User experience depends on use case

– Toast to interstitial, roadblock interstitial, toast to partner site, etc.

● Packaged experience “recipes”

– Selling a combination of user experiences / monetization

solutions based on:

– carrier capabilities

– local market regulation

– local market user values

– regional content availability

Rocket Platform: NFV Application Suite

Rocket

Optimizer

(Media Opt.

Application)

Rocket

Insights

(Analytics

Application)

Rocket

Marketer

(Interstitial

Application)

Rocket Controller

Steering

Element

ICAP

Use Cases

Opt-In

Get user opt-in to a carrier service, e.g. Terms of Service

● Generic opt-in framework to gather user

consent to any functionality

– ToS consent a specific instantiation, may

be required by carriers to enable

Marketer functions

– If ToS required for Marketer, interstitials

will only be shown to users who have

agreed to new ToS

Trending News AlertsNotify user of recent news events

● News story for user value

● Ad for monetization

● Multiple news categories

● Experimenting with design

– news image size vs ad size

– Multiple stories per interstitial

– etc.

Full page ad interstitialShow a full page ad to the user

● Relevant to user based on ad network

targeting

● Monetization for carrier

● Ad network & ad frequency configurable by

administrator

“Buy on Amazon”Toast user reading a product review to purchase it on Amazon

● Trigger

– Page URL: user visits web page with

product information in it.

● Behavior

– Toast to purchase product on Amazon

– Click lands user on Amazon page

● Dependencies

– Amazon partnership

– Product entity extraction (page or URL)

“App promotion”Alert user to interesting apps

● Interstitial can promote sets of apps –

relevant to user

● Toast user about individual apps – relevant

to context

● Interstitial can be triggered by specific

browsing behavior and targeted based on

user profile (e.g., prepaid, postpaid, etc.)

“My Operator”:data lowAlert user to low data and prompt for upsell

● Trigger by carrier user data: variable

threshold value: 70%-100%

● Implemented as toast or interstitial alert to

user

● Extensible to any Gx profile trigger – bill

due, payment received, device upgrade

available, etc.

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