Akamai aims to end Web waits.

Akamai, a firm with roots in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology_s math department, says it can help untangle massive traffic jams by keeping people off the Internet at large. Having opened its doors to commercial use just two and half months ago, the company has already persuaded major clients like Yahoo, CNN, and Disney_s Go Network to host their content on its system. Underlying the company_s growth are fears that big Web events, such as this year_s release of the Star Wars movie trailers , are leading to overloaded and sometimes unreachable sites, prompting concern that Web architecture can_t keep up with surges in use. Despite its youth, the company is confident enough to offer potential customers a bold guarantee: Content will be available 100 percent of the time, and will be delivered faster than the customer_s own Web site can do the job, or that day_s services are free. The trick to this Pony Express of the Web content world is Akamai_s network of servers, hosted by the biggest ISPs on the planet. With dedicated housing, the company can host content from customers like Yahoo at each of 20 points around the world. This allows a user to go to a site close to his or her own computer in accessing bandwidth-heavy content, such as advertisements, graphics, or photographs. By structuring its network this way--and using technology developed at MIT to manage the traffic--the company can keep its customers_ bandwidth-hogging Web site elements from having to cross between ISP networks, where much of the Net_s worst slowdowns take place. "We_re posting content to the edges of the Internet, so it hops over all the busy hotspots on the Internet itself," said David Goodtree, the company_s vice president of marketing . The system will improve as the company installs servers in more ISP networks around the world, he said. Currently, the company has 600 servers in 20 networks around the world, with the capacity to serve 11 gigabits per second (GBPs). Analysts say the company is using an idea essentially similar to the caching technology of companies like Inktomi, but targeting the content companies instead of ISPs. Such systems are used heavily by big networks like America Online and Excite@Home. By contrast, Akamai sells its services directly to the content companies themselves, keeping quickly changing content and advertisements more up to date do than most traditional caching systems. A California company called Sandpiper has a similar model of distributing servers around the edges of the Web, while other companies are beaming updated content via satellite to servers inside ISP or cable networks. But Akamai has been able to put its name quickly on the map with major customers, a sign that bodes well for the company_s future.