4 ms·

How is Netflix second in upstream traffic, at 6.78%? What are users sending to Netflix besides an occasional request for more data and maybe some telemetry?

jhasse 11y ago
I guess it's not only counting users but also Netflix' servers sending their streams to users all around the world.
- josu 11y ago
  Then, shouldn't the up and down stream be symmetric?
  - jhasse 11y ago
    Maybe not if North Americans are uploading more then downloading ;)
- andreasley 11y ago
  If that were so, the statistics for Upstream and Downstream would be identical. All upstream is downstream for someone else. Very few packets get lost. :) The question is: What is meant by "traffic" in this report? Is it the amount of bytes? The number of packets? The number of requests? It's not entirely clear.
sjbase 11y ago
I had the same question. I could only find info from 2013, but it seems like the content protocol for Netflix ("DASH") is heavily synchronous [1] where "the client requests one chunk [of video] at a time via HTTP." Really small video chunks == more responsive controls (e.g. rewind) but chatty control band. [1]: https://technifyme.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/netflix-uncovered/ https://technifyme.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/netflix-uncovere...
jo909 11y ago
Most of that are "I got that packet, now you can send more" aka "ACK" packets.
- Bedon292 11y ago
  Yeah, it is the ACK packets. Here is an article going into more about it http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/netflix-takes-up-9-5-of-upstream-traffic-on-the-north-american-internet/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/netfli...
bluedino 11y ago
ACK packets can take 3-4% of the amount of downloads. If you've ever used a severely lopsided DSL connection 6/128k for example, you can pretty much kill the upload on a shared connection by just making a download at the full speed.
jedberg 11y ago
At Netflix we liked to joke and say that Netflix is a logging platform that happens to play movies. You're sending a ton of real time data about stream quality and network congestion to help make sure you get the best possible experience. By adjusting your client to compensate for whatever local issues you might be having at that second and combining that with overall data, Netflix can do things like route around broken local routers and other sorts of things, as well as contact ISPs on your behalf if there are systemic issues.
- hackuser 11y ago
  > as well as contact ISPs on your behalf if there are systemic issues That is awesome: So if I just continuously stream Netflix, I get free monitoring and incident response? Thank you! :) More seriously, it's great that it works out this way. Most end users have no ability to identify the cause of problems much less do anything about them, and even technical users rarely have the time or resources (unless it's their job).

jhasse 11y ago

I guess it's not only counting users but also Netflix' servers sending their streams to users all around the world.

josu 11y ago
Then, shouldn't the up and down stream be symmetric?
- jhasse 11y ago
  Maybe not if North Americans are uploading more then downloading ;)
andreasley 11y ago
If that were so, the statistics for Upstream and Downstream would be identical. All upstream is downstream for someone else. Very few packets get lost. :) The question is: What is meant by "traffic" in this report? Is it the amount of bytes? The number of packets? The number of requests? It's not entirely clear.

sjbase 11y ago

I had the same question. I could only find info from 2013, but it seems like the content protocol for Netflix ("DASH") is heavily synchronous [1] where "the client requests one chunk [of video] at a time via HTTP." Really small video chunks == more responsive controls (e.g. rewind) but chatty control band. [1]: https://technifyme.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/netflix-uncovered/ https://technifyme.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/netflix-uncovere...

jo909 11y ago

Most of that are "I got that packet, now you can send more" aka "ACK" packets.

Bedon292 11y ago
Yeah, it is the ACK packets. Here is an article going into more about it http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/netflix-takes-up-9-5-of-upstream-traffic-on-the-north-american-internet/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/netfli...

bluedino 11y ago

ACK packets can take 3-4% of the amount of downloads. If you've ever used a severely lopsided DSL connection 6/128k for example, you can pretty much kill the upload on a shared connection by just making a download at the full speed.

jedberg 11y ago

At Netflix we liked to joke and say that Netflix is a logging platform that happens to play movies. You're sending a ton of real time data about stream quality and network congestion to help make sure you get the best possible experience. By adjusting your client to compensate for whatever local issues you might be having at that second and combining that with overall data, Netflix can do things like route around broken local routers and other sorts of things, as well as contact ISPs on your behalf if there are systemic issues.

hackuser 11y ago
> as well as contact ISPs on your behalf if there are systemic issues That is awesome: So if I just continuously stream Netflix, I get free monitoring and incident response? Thank you! :) More seriously, it's great that it works out this way. Most end users have no ability to identify the cause of problems much less do anything about them, and even technical users rarely have the time or resources (unless it's their job).