Behind the Binge: The Powerful Tech Stack Powering Netflix.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Netflix’s Scalable Streaming Architecture.

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This diagram provides a high-level overview of the architecture behind Netflix streaming services.

Here are some of the key components:

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁: Netflix’s own content delivery network (CDN) located within internet service providers (ISPs) and internet exchange points (IXPs) for faster content delivery.

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁: This represents the device used by the end-user to stream content, such as a computer, smartphone, or tablet.

𝗘𝗟𝗕: Elastic Load Balancer is a service offered by AWS that distributes incoming traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances.

𝗭𝘂𝘂𝗹: Netflix’s open-source API gateway that routes incoming traffic to appropriate microservices.

𝗛𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘅: A tool designed by Netflix to handle fault tolerance and latency in distributed systems.

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V𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Video files are validated and converted into different formats to ensure compatibility with various devices.

𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗞𝗪𝗔: A data collection system designed by Netflix to collect and transport large amounts of data from its distributed systems.

𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝟯: Stores all the transcoded video files.

𝗞𝗮𝗳𝗸𝗮: An open-source streaming platform that is used to route event data from CHUKWA to other systems.

𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀: Netflix uses a microservices architecture where complex applications are broken down into smaller, independent services.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮: A highly scalable and distributed NoSQL database used by Netflix to store user data and other application data.

𝗠𝘆𝗦𝗤𝗟: A distributed relational database used by Netflix to store user billing information.

𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸: An open-source analytics engine used by Netflix for data processing.

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𝗘𝗠𝗥: The Elastic MapReduce service on AWS that allows for large-scale data processing.

This is a simplified overview of a complex system. If you’re interested in learning more about Netflix’s architecture, there are a number of resources available online.

This diagram offers a springboard for deeper discussions on:

• Microservices architecture benefits and challenges
• Scaling a streaming service to global audiences
• Data-driven strategies for optimizing user experience