Steam Content Delivery Network Study

Welcome to our study on Steam’s Content Delivery Network and traffic patterns. This site serves as a hub for all data, findings, and additional materials related to our comprehensive research.

Overview

Our study delves into the intricate workings of Steam’s content delivery network, exploring how it manages the increasing demands of modern video game distribution. We analyze the evolution of game sizes, particularly the shift towards 100GB games, and its impact on distribution networks.

Key Findings

• Detailed analysis of Steam’s data centers and cache locations.
• Investigation into the traffic patterns during game releases and updates.
• Insights into Steam’s use of cache servers and third-party CDNs.

Interactive Graphs

If you’re interested in exploring the data we’ve collected, you can visit our Streamlit site here. This site provides access to the most up-to-date data available. It features the same graphs used in our paper, but with the added flexibility of modifying dates, regions, and locations for a customized analysis.

We aim to continuously enhance this site by adding new features, to offer deeper insights into the data.

Dataset Repository

Download the dataset used in our study here. The interactive graphs site uses the current dataset, which is updated every 10 minutes.

Feel free to reach out if you are interested in accessing, or obtaining a copy of the most recent dataset.

Code Repositories

• Pulling data from Steam
• Streamlit app for viewing data

Research Paper

This work was presented as part of the Passive and Active Measurement (PAM) 2024. You can find the paper here.

Thank you for visiting our research hub. For more information or inquiries, please contact us at {christoff,romain}@iij.ad.jp.