The overall goal of Open Connect Appliance (OCA) deployment is to provide the best experience possible for Netflix viewers with a design providing maximum resiliency and localizing traffic as much as possible to optimize ISP resources. The following criteria have led to successful OCA deployments at a substantial number of global ISPs and are requirements for consideration.
Network and Data Center Criteria
| Criteria | Description |
| Network | Your ISP should have a public autonomous system number (ASN) that you are able to use for peering |
| Netflix Viewer Traffic | For offload efficiency and system scale, we evaluate the level of current Netflix traffic to determine whether embedded OCA(s) can provide sufficient offload |
| Network Capacity | Each site must have the capacity to handle 1.2 Gbps of inbound traffic daily per appliance for fill and updates. The majority of fill occurs during low traffic times to maximize offload. |
| Interconnection | You must connect to Netflix via SFI (peering) at one or more Netflix points of presence (PoPs) if it is possible to do so. |
| AWS Connectivity | OCAs and clients must be able to communicate with the control plane services running in Amazon Web Services (AWS). If connectivity to AWS is lost, OCAs will stop serving traffic. Note: You can confirm the status of required inbound/outbound OCA connectivity in the Partner Portal. |
| Installation | You must be able to physically install OCAs at your assigned site within 10 business days of receipt, or as soon as possible thereafter |
| Consistent room temperatures | No higher than 78°F (26°C) |
| Maximum room temperatures | No higher than 104°F (40°C) for very short periods of time only |
| Physical Connection | You must be able to provision 1-2 X 100G or 2-6 x 10 Gbps optical ethernet ports in a LACP LAG per OCA. The exact quantity depends on the OCA hardware type. |
| Maximum Power Supply Draw | 350-700W per OCA, varies by hardware type and utilization |
Team roles
To participate in the OCA program, you will need to identify a person or a set of people who are available to perform the following roles. Your team members will work closely with the corresponding members of the Netflix team to facilitate the overall process.
| Partner Role | Description |
| Engagement Manager | The main point of contact for the Netflix Open Connect team |
| Legal Representative | Reviews and accepts the legal agreements that are required for OCA deployments |
| Network Engineer | Provides information about partner sites, OCA configurations, maintenance, and network routing |
| Logistics Representative | Directs the shipment of OCAs Your logistics representative should be involved at the beginning of the engagement process to avoid shipping delays at later stages of the process |
| Data Center Operations | Installs OCAs on the partner network |
| Network Operations | Works with Netflix to troubleshoot routing and other configuration issues that might arise |
Traffic Analysis and Sizing
After Netflix receives your OCA request, we will review Netflix traffic patterns on your ASN. In general you will receive a response within 10 business days from submitting your request.
For ISPs who have one or more sites that qualify, additional capacity planning activities will be initiated. The first steps are to forecast per-site capacity and network configuration requirements in conjunction with your network planning and engineering teams. This includes analysis of traffic patterns within the various regions of your network, determination of the appropriate type and count of OCAs for each location, and a review of resiliency options.
The number of appliances to be deployed are determined by three general factors:
- Your overall network architecture requirements
- The peak Netflix traffic to be delivered from a given site
- The availability and failover options possible for a given site
Once appliances are deployed, the Netflix team will work with you to forecast future demand to ensure that your OCA configuration will accommodate future peaks of traffic. Appliance performance is monitored by the Open Connect Operations Team who will contact you if there are any issues with performance or the hardware itself. Note that per the Partner Maintenance section of the Open Connect Deployment Guide the only field-serviceable components are optics and power supplies. Any other hardware needs are met through our RMA process as described in the Returns and Replacements section of the guide.