Telia used Varnish Enterprise to create its next-generation CDN
By co-developing native, in-core TLS with Varnish Software developers, the Nordic telecom giant more than doubled its single-server capacity to hit 150 Gbit/s on standard COTS hardware.
150 Gbit/s
Peak capacity
Achieved on a single server using in-core TLS in testing
2x
Capacity boost
Native TLS integration doubled throughput limits on standard hardware.
1st
Network scale
Operates the world's largest and fastest-growing wholesale IP backbone.
Before implementing Varnish Enterprise, Telia faced an end-of-life cycle for its legacy CDN. Seeking a future-proof, hardware-efficient solution to scale for high-density video streaming, Telia worked directly with Varnish core developers to pioneer native in-core TLS functionality. This architectural evolution successfully doubled their capacity output, building a highly stable and performant next-generation streaming network across the Nordics and Baltics.
Telia's baseline operational scale
Telia is the largest Nordic and Baltic fixed-voice, broadband, and mobile operator. Positioned as a digital ecosystem hub, the Swedish-based multinational telecommunications leader runs an extensive TV and media portfolio including Sweden's TV4, Finland's MTV, and C More. They routinely route massive data streams across their global network architecture.
Telia needed to optimize the underlying operating systems and have a CDN solution to manage the large, and growing, level of traffic we routinely serve.
— Ragnar Kåhre, Solutions Architect, TeliaTransitioning to large centralized edge nodes
Historically, CDN logic was constrained to small, geographically scattered server nodes on the assumption that the network itself was causing the bottleneck. However, extensive simulated tests proved that a centralized model would deliver significantly better performance. Telia shifted to a predominantly large-node solution to push maximum throughput from a handful of sites. In parallel, smaller nodes were deployed selectively where network backbones were less robust, such as in Norway following Telia's acquisition of cable operator GET.
Together we were able to get Varnish to more than double the capacity of a single server.
— Ragnar Kåhre, Solutions Architect, TeliaPioneering native in-core TLS with Varnish
In a lab environment, Telia successfully achieved 150 Gbit/s performance parameters on standard server instances using Varnish Enterprise. To translate these limits into a production reality, Varnish developers co-developed dynamic in-core TLS functionality. This breakthrough integrated native TLS directly into Varnish's core software, bypassing extra proxy network steps, optimizing CPU hardware resource performance, and multiplying historical output limits on standard boxes.
Consolidated long-term infrastructure savings
The architectural transformation yielded immediate structural efficiency gains. By utilizing high-capacity Varnish caching proxies, Telia drastically reduced their physical on-premises server footprint alongside their dependency on external cloud CDN networks. As Telia consolidates multiple regional platforms into a single, unified Varnish-based CDN pipeline, the organization secures profound ongoing operational cost savings and limitless OTT stream scalability.
Case study overview
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Successfully built a highly scalable, regional streaming CDN.
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Achieved 150 Gbit/s throughput per server utilizing in-core TLS.
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Substantially decreased on-prem server count and cloud CDN expenditures.
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Unified disparate regional infrastructures under one stable platform.