implementing aqua ion - chris schultz, digi-key

Implementing Aqua IonChris Schultz

Manager, Marketing Applications Development at Digi-Key

©2013 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM

About Digi-Key

• One of the fastest growing distributors of electronic components

in the world.

• Digi-Key's website is the top-rated and most-visited website in the

electronic distribution industry. *

* UBM Electronics - 2012 Distributor Customer Evaluation Study


About Digi-Key

•What makes Digi-Key unique?

•Authorized Distribution

•600+ suppliers

•Breadth of Product

•750,000 stocking products

•3.5M+ sku’s on website

•Support/Resources

•Customer Service

•Technical Service


About Dynamic Catalog

• April 12th 2012, Digi-Key launches Dynamic Catalog

• Replacement for Printed Catalog

• Challenges with Printed Catalog

• Outdated Quickly - parts being continually added, prices change

• Expensive

• Time consuming to create


About Dynamic Catalog - Main Page


About Dynamic Catalog - Category Page


About Dynamic Catalog - Search Page


Background

•Challenges

•Site hosted from data center in northern Minnesota

•Size of catalog

•Rapidly evolving content

•Heavy on JavaScript and CSS

•Lots of images

•Varying performance by users based on location, computer speed, browser version, etc…


Background

•Why move beyond mid-mile acceleration?

•Performance, performance, performance

•Geographically diverse customer base

•Majority of future growth outside United States

•Growing mobile customer base


Background

•Options

• In-house development

•Cloud solution

•How To Measure Performance

•Synthetic testing

•Real User Monitoring (RUM)


Background

•In-House Development

•Advantages

•Best possible results

•Fastest page possible

•Better architecture

•Disadvantages

•Requires development resources

•Other higher priority projects


Background

•Cloud Solution

•Advantages

•No development resources needed

•Administrator & cloud provider implement solution

•Disadvantages

•Cost

•Required additional external testing for all projects

•Loss of understanding


Solution Implemented

•Aqua Ion

•Front End Optimization

•Real User Monitoring


Front End Optimization

•Features Implemented

•JSS/CSS Streaming & Adaptive Consolidation

•Just-In-Time Image Loading

•Image Compression

•Minification

•Domain Sharding


Front End Optimization Results

• Parties Involved

• Digi-Key

• Myself

• Web Optimization Specialist

• Software Engineer (Helped resolve JavaScript/CSS issue)

• QA

• Akamai

• Technical Project Manager

• Solutions Architect



• Timelines

• Test Environment

• Issues

• JavaScript/CSS - Header on column did not align up properly with columns in

table

• FEO Enabled – 4 Weeks

• Production Environment

• Issues – None

• FEO Enabled – 4 Weeks


Implementation Activities

Activity Timeframe

Project Kick off and Requirements Gathering Week One

Complete discovery documents Week One

Set up Domain Sharding Host Names Week One

Complete Configuration and Provisioning Week Two – Week Three

Akamai - Test configuration changes Week Four

Digi-Key - Test configuration changes and provide sign off Week Five – Week Six

Production Go-Live Week Seven



• Main page - 29% improvement in performance

• Category page - 41% improvement in performance

• Search page - 52% improvement in performance


Real User Monitoring

•One step past synthetic monitoring

•Reports Used

•Page load time by country

•Page load time by operating system

•Page load time by browser version

•Worst 10% reports

•Takes into account

•Network time

•Rendering time


RUM Results

• Parties Involved

• Digi-Key

• Web Optimization Specialist

• QA

• Akamai

• Technical Project Manager

• Solutions Architect


RUM Results

• Timelines

• Test Environment

• Not Implemented

• Production Environment

• Issues – None

• RUM Enabled – 1 Weeks


RUM Example #1


RUM Example #2


RUM Example #3


Future Implementation Considerations

• Dynamic Page Caching

• Implementation Options

• Query String

• Cookie Values

• Request Headers

• Main Considerations

• Anonymous vs Logged Users

• Automated Bots


Summary

• Affordable fixing inefficiencies

• Refocus resources on high value projects

• Insight into real users performance


Questions

implementing aqua ion - chris schultz, digi-key

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