E-Learning Company Uses Zenlayer Edge Data Center Services

Without infrastructure, Talk-Cloud would fail to keep up with rapid growth and demand

Talk-Cloud has been experiencing rapid growth and global demand, with as many as 300,000 sessions a day being conducted in 2018. However, with increased growth came increased demands on their network. Low latency (<200 ms) is absolutely crucial for online education, which relies on two- or multi-way live streaming for interactive experiences. Video lag distracts and detracts from the learning environment.

Without a reliable, low-latency network, Talk-Cloud would begin losing customers to competing platforms. Without a network that could rapidly expand, they would not be able to keep up with global demand. Additional concerns were data located in two different public clouds, the variable network needs depending on regional demand, and difficulty hiring support in regions outside of Talk-Cloud’s home country, China.

Online education thrives on interaction

As the globe has become increasingly connected, online education has surged. Teachers can reach students located anywhere as long as they have internet access. Studies show that these students do a better job of retaining material and staying engaged when they have high interaction with their teachers. However, when the video lags and stutters interaction is severely reduced.

Video latency becomes noticeable to human perception at around 200 ms. While a few stutters can be ignored, students quickly become disengaged if the lag continues. Due to the live nature of the conversation, pre-buffering is not an option. Latency must be lowered through dynamic routing and edge server usage.

Talk-Cloud

Talk-Cloud, an e-Learning platform used by universities and other online education providers, was experiencing exponential growth and needed rapid deployment of new network nodes to maintain customer satisfaction. The heart of their platform is two-way live streaming, an application extremely sensitive to latency issues and network instability. By using Zenlayer Bare Metal Cloud and Edge Data Center Services for their network needs, Talk-Cloud was able to increase coverage by 40% while reducing latency by 5% and costs by 20%.

A flexible edge-based network

Zenlayer provided a multi-point solution, custom-tailored for Talk-Cloud’s different needs in different regions. Each aspect could be rapidly deployed, meaning their network could (and would) be easily expanded in the future in any location.