Case Studies > So-net Media Networks Demand-Side Platform Powers Real-Time Bidding and Ad Optimization

So-net Media Networks Demand-Side Platform Powers Real-Time Bidding and Ad Optimization

Company Size

1,000+

Region

Asia

Country

Japan

Product

Logicad DSP
Aerospike NoSQL database
Dell R610 rack servers

Tech Stack

NoSQL
Solid State Drives (SSDs)
Flash-Optimized Technology

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Storage Services

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Use Cases

Real-Time Location System (RTLS)

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
System Integration

About The Customer

So-net Media Networks, an arm of So-net Entertainment Corporation, is a leading advertising distribution service provider in Japan. The company offers a demand-side platform (DSP) called Logicad, which features a robust system infrastructure that rapidly and reliably processes massive volumes of distribution logs and audience data. Logicad uses a distinctive algorithm to distribute ads with real-time bidding (RTB) functionality, maximizing the effectiveness of display ads placed by advertisers. So-net Media Networks is committed to providing innovative solutions in the online advertising industry, leveraging advanced technologies to meet the dynamic needs of marketers.

The Challenge

For So-net Media Networks, offering RTB functionality was critical to the success of its new ad distribution service for the Japanese online display market. A distinctive algorithm with the ability to forecast expected click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates (CVR) was already in place. However, the company required a database that was capable of reliably processing and storing the vast sets of data at the core of the Logicad platform. Additionally, it needed to handle responses in less than 120 milliseconds (ms)—the time within which a user clicked to view a page, the request was received across the network, the profile was retrieved, Logicad’s algorithms were executed, bids were received, a winner was selected, and the ad was served. Network traversal times of 50ms left only 70 ms for server-processing and 2 to 5 database transactions per request. This meant that each database transaction had to complete as fast as possible and within 10 ms at most. With 10,000 bid requests arriving per second, the database also had to handle throughput of 50,000 transactions per second (TPS). Another requirement was the ability of the database to automatically expire millions of records per day. So-net Media Networks also wanted a database with no single point of failure, 24x7 reliability, and availability. Background daily backup capabilities were important, as was the ability for the system to scale out easily as the business grew.

The Solution

Initially, So-net Media Networks implemented a commonly used open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) and a popular Japanese open-source key-value store (KVS). However, these systems had limitations such as a single point of failure, inability to scale, and inefficient management of automatic expiration and daily backups. As an alternative, So-net Media Networks investigated NoSQL databases designed to store Web-scale amounts of data. After evaluating several options, they found that the first two well-known, open-source NoSQL systems were unable to provide the necessary throughput, while the third struggled with consistency. Then, while attending adTech 2011, So-net Media Networks executives learned about the Aerospike NoSQL database, which was designed to address the real-time data management needs of the online advertising industry. Based on a discussion with the Aerospike support team, So-net Media Networks decided to perform a proof of concept, and the results were conclusive. Today, So-net Media Networks runs Aerospike on four Dell R610 rack servers, each with 48 GB memory and four OCZ solid state drives (SSDs). Aerospike’s flash-optimized technology allows So-net Media Networks to maximize throughput to over 200,000 TPS by performing direct reads and writes. This solution is 20 times more cost-effective than an in-memory solution and provides 100% uptime with fail-safe architecture, automatic fail-over, replication, intelligent re-balancing, and data migration.

Operational Impact

Aerospike’s fail-safe architecture provides So-net Media Networks with an always-on solution and 100% uptime. In the event of node failure, Aerospike’s automatic fail-over and replication, intelligent re-balancing, and data migration ensure that there is never any degradation in service.
The flash-optimized technology of Aerospike allows So-net Media Networks to maximize throughput to over 200,000 TPS by performing direct reads and writes, enabling a very cost-effective solution.
So-net Media Networks plans to expand its platform to support the growing number of advertising orders, supported by Aerospike’s shared-nothing architecture, which offers linear scalability and uncompromised throughput.
The company is also considering the use of Aerospike’s cross data-center replication feature to introduce an additional cluster for data analysis.

Quantitative Benefit

Aerospike’s approach turned out to be 1/20th the cost of in-memory only options on Amazon EC2 and on-premise options with Dell Power Edge 810s and 2 TB of DRAM.
The database handles throughput of 50,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Aerospike provides the Logicad platform with a reliable Web-scale data store for up to 500 million unique user records for 90 days and approximately 2 terabytes (TB) of replicated data.