Akamai IP Accelerator: A Holistic Approach to Security and Performance

As the distance between users and an application’s hosting server grows, network latency increases, resulting in slower response times and a degraded user experience. This can be particularly problematic for real-time applications, such as video conferencing, games, and financial trading platforms.

Inconsistent internet quality across different regions may lead to issues like packet loss, jitter, and fluctuating bandwidth. Disruptions to the network can, in turn, cause application downtime, poor performance, and low user engagement, especially in regions with underdeveloped network infrastructures.

Managing a globally distributed infrastructure requires significant resources for monitoring, maintenance, and optimization across multiple data centers and cloud providers. The complexity of managing data transmission across a global network can lead to configuration errors, inefficient resource use, and increasing operational costs for an enterprise.

Attacks against network infrastructure are becoming increasingly sophisticated as malicious actors use advanced techniques to exploit vulnerabilities. Threats like DDoS attacks, Domain Name System (DNS) hijacking, and application layer exploits can compromise IP-based applications — leading to downtime, data breaches, and loss of business and customer trust.

Protecting against these ever-evolving threats is critical for enterprises to ensure uninterrupted service delivery; safeguard sensitive information; and deliver a consistent, reliable user experience.

Some of the key security threats that affect IP-based applications include:

• DDoS attacks — DDoS attacks overwhelm an application or server with massive amounts of traffic, causing performance degradation or complete service outages.
  

• Credential stuffing and brute-force attacks — Attackers use automated tools to guess or validate large numbers of credentials, aiming to gain unauthorized access.
  

• Machine-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks — In these attacks, an adversary intercepts communication between a user and the application to potentially steal sensitive data or inject malicious payloads.
  

• Data breaches and unauthorized access — Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities to access sensitive information stored on servers.

Akamai IP Accelerator is an offering aimed at companies that require optimized and secure IP-based application delivery. IP Accelerator is ideal for enterprises that need an enhanced, consistent user experience across various global regions, especially where network conditions may be suboptimal.

IP Accelerator offers two pillars of value: performance and security. 

By blending robust security measures with advanced performance features IP Accelerator represents a comprehensive solution built for enterprises that prioritize both protection and performance.

Performance is critical for modern applications, especially in a world where user expectations for speed are higher than ever. Akamai IP Accelerator is designed to not only secure your applications but also to ensure that they deliver a seamless and efficient experience.

IP Accelerator’s capabilities work to reduce latency and improve response times, particularly in regions with poor connectivity:

• TCP optimization — By optimizing the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) parameters, IP Accelerator minimizes latency by reducing packet loss and re-transmissions, ensuring smoother data transmission even on high-latency networks.

• Fast TCP mechanisms — Enhanced connection handshake methods enable quicker connections between the client and server, ensuring a more responsive user experience.

Figure 1 illustrates the reduction in latency and throughput gains that can be achieved with IP Accelerator.

• Performance improvement 
  • Average test time
    • Without IP Accelerator: a higher latency trend due to inefficient routing and congested networks
    • With IP Accelerator: a significant drop (up to 100% improvement), particularly over long-haul connections
  • Throughput gain
    • Without IP Accelerator: limited throughput due to small window sizes and frequent retransmissions
    • With IP Accelerator: 100% improvement in data transfer rates, achieved through larger windows, congestion control, and persistent connections

With IP Accelerator, organizations can deliver an improved user experience with faster page load time, leading to higher user satisfaction and retention, as well as reduced abandonment rates for ecommerce platforms and software as a service (SaaS) applications.

Businesses can also expect to see increased business efficiency as higher throughput ensures that applications can handle more users concurrently without degrading performance.

In addition, by mitigating the performance impact of geographical distances, IP Accelerator enables businesses to deliver consistent experiences across all their touchpoints.

Network disruptions and outages can result in lost revenue and frustrated users. IP Accelerator employs multipath redundancy, routing traffic through the most efficient paths available, which minimizes potential delays caused by network congestion or failures (Figure 2). IP Accelerator features:

• Real-time route selection: By dynamically choosing the most efficient path for each user request, IP Accelerator minimizes latency and ensures reliability.

• Failover mechanisms: In the event of a network disruption, IP Accelerator automatically redirects traffic through alternate paths, ensuring uninterrupted access.
  

Akamai IP Accelerator uses real-time dynamic mapping, a feature that continuously evaluates network conditions to select the best possible path for each user session. This ensures that users experience consistently low latency and minimal delays, regardless of their geographical location. IP Accelerator features:

• Real-time load balancing — IP Accelerator dynamically adjusts routes based on network conditions, balancing loads across multiple paths to reduce congestion.

• User-centric routing — By prioritizing the user experience, IP Accelerator ensures that users benefit from the lowest possible latency, with optimized routes to provide quick response times.

In addition to powerful performance features, IP Accelerator provides a multilayered defense strategy designed to protect both the origin server and end users. This approach mitigates potential threats before they can disrupt operations or compromise data.

Akamai’s threat intelligence infrastructure continuously monitors global threat landscapes, enabling IP Accelerator to stay updated on emerging threats. Applying these insights, IP Accelerator’s security policies provide customizable, rule-based defenses that are tailored to evolving threat vectors. Custom security policies let administrators create and enforce specific security policies to meet their organizational requirements, adding an extra layer of customized protection.

High-traffic applications are often at risk from high-volume attacks that flood systems with traffic, such as brute-force or bot attacks. IP Accelerator’s IP rate limiting feature allows enterprises to control the rate of incoming requests from specific IP addresses, effectively blocking automated and repeated attempts to access applications.

IP Accelerator’s fast IP blocking (FIPB) feature enhances security by allowing administrators to block malicious IP addresses instantly. This capability is essential in environments where attacks may originate from specific IPs or regions known for suspicious activity. Even entire countries can be blocked. FIPB provides: 

• Real-time blocking — Administrators can immediately block IPs that show signs of suspicious behavior.

• Automatic threat detection — IP Accelerator can automatically identify threats based on predefined rules and promptly block malicious IPs, ensuring minimal impact on application availability.

One of the primary security features of IP Accelerator is its focus on securing access to both origin and client endpoints. By implementing strict access controls, Akamai reduces the risk of unauthorized access to applications, data, and infrastructure. This is especially beneficial for companies that are subject to compliance regulations that require strict access management. IP Accelerator features:

• Access policies that allow administrators to define who can access the origin servers and applications by applying granular rules based on IP addresses, geographic regions, and user identities. Administrators can restrict access to authorized users, reducing the likelihood of brute-force attacks.

• Client-side controls that control user interactions by allowing or denying access based on IP addresses, mitigating potential risks from malicious entities who attempt to exploit public-facing applications.

IP Accelerator represents a comprehensive approach to security and performance. Whether defending against attacks or providing reliable access across regions, IP Accelerator ensures that security and performance are not just priorities — they are also seamlessly integrated.

Future enhancements will expand the security posture of the product, ensuring it remains resilient to evolving threats. For enterprises that operate globally, IP Accelerator delivers a robust solution that addresses both the growing threat landscape and the need for responsive, low-latency performance.