Event-Triggered Edge Functions for Low-Latency Local Table Writes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content delivery networks (CDNs) face network transmission delays due to the need for additional data retrieval from origin databases, and edge location scripts have limited capabilities, including inability to access databases or make network calls for security reasons, which hampers efficient data processing and retrieval.
Innovation Solution
Implementing edge datastores with event-triggered functions that allow low latency query processing and data retrieval by translating queries and responses across different database formats, enabling data storage and access without network calls, and allowing functions to execute in isolated environments with local table access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If data is retrieved from origin database at CDN edge locations, then content delivery speed is improved, but network transmission delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-loads data from the origin database into local datastores at edge locations before client requests arrive. This preliminary action allows the data to be locally cached and ready for immediate retrieval, eliminating network transmission delays when clients request the content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a local datastore as an intermediary between the origin database and clients. This intermediary stores copies of data locally at edge locations, allowing fast local retrieval without direct communication with the origin database, thus reducing network transmission delays.
2Reliability
If edge location scripts are restricted from network calls, then security is improved, but data processing capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the data processing functionality from network-dependent scripts into event-triggered functions that operate locally on data in local datastores. These functions can read and write to local data without making network calls, maintaining security while enabling data processing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables edge functions to serve themselves by providing direct access to local datastores. The event-triggered functions can independently read from and write to local data without external network assistance, maintaining both security and processing capability.
3Loss of time
If local datastores are implemented at edge locations, then data retrieval latency is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates simplified copies of data in local datastores at edge locations rather than implementing full database systems. These local copies contain only the necessary data for local processing, reducing complexity while achieving low-latency retrieval for commonly accessed content.
Data Source
AI summary
Edge functions at an edge location of a content delivery network (CDN) may use APIs of a datastore engine in order to read/write or create/delete local tables at the edge location. Data may be accumulated in the local tables and the new data may be used to enhance decision at the edge. Some of the local tables may be initially populated from a back-end database. This allows the functions to modify the data from the back-end database, without affecting the actual source data at the back-end database (modifications to local tables remain local to the edge location).