Company snapshot
| Category | Fastly | Highwinds |
|---|---|---|
| Status | active | defunct |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | — | — |
| Website | — | — |
| Docs | — | — |
Overview
Fastly is a global content delivery network (CDN) and edge cloud platform founded in 2011, headquartered in San Francisco, USA. It focuses on delivering fast, secure, and customizable content delivery and edge computing services. Fastly serves a range of enterprise customers, including The New York Times, GitHub, Spotify, and Pinterest, with a developer-centric approach. Its platform emphasizes real-time control, analytics, and edge computing capabilities. Fastly went public in 2019 and remains active, though it has faced challenges with outages and industry slowdowns.
Highwinds Network Group, Inc., founded in 2002, provided content delivery network (CDN) services, cloud storage, IP transit, and colocation, serving clients like Blip.TV, Hudl, Valve, and CCP Games. Its RollingThunder network supported video streaming and gaming content delivery. Acquired by StackPath in 2017, Highwinds CDN was integrated into StackPath’s offerings but was discontinued in November 2023 as StackPath exited the CDN business. The service is now defunct, with no active operations.
Network & Architecture
Fastly operates over 60 points of presence (POPs) globally, with a focus on major population centers for low-latency content delivery. Its global anycast network optimizes routing, but its smaller POP count compared to competitors like Akamai or Cloudflare may limit coverage in some regions. Fastly has strong peering agreements, enhancing performance for high-traffic sites. It excels in North America, EMEA, and APAC but has less presence in Africa and LatAm. The platform leverages WebAssembly for edge computing isolation and resiliency.
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Feature comparison
| Feature | Fastly | Highwinds |
|---|---|---|
waf | ✓ | ✗ |
bot_mitigation | ✗ | ✗ |
ddos | ✓ | ✗ |
rate_limit | ✗ | ✗ |
http3_quic | ✓ | ✗ |
tls13 | ✓ | ✗ |
tiered_cache | ✗ | ✗ |
origin_shield | ✓ | ✗ |
instant_purge | ✓ | ✓ |
stale_while_revalidate | ✓ | ✗ |
stale_if_error | ✓ | ✗ |
image_optimization | ✓ | ✗ |
video_vod | ✗ | ✓ |
video_live | ✗ | ✓ |
drm | ✗ | ✗ |
hls_dash_packaging | ✗ | ✗ |
websockets | ✓ | ✗ |
signed_urls | ✓ | ✗ |
edge_compute | ✓ | ✗ |
functions | ✓ | ✗ |
kv_storage | ✗ | ✗ |
api_first | ✓ | ✓ |
realtime_logs | ✓ | ✓ |
log_push | ✓ | ✗ |
terraform | ✓ | ✗ |
Legend: ✓ = Supported, ✗ = Not supported, — = Not listed
Pricing
Fastly uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with pricing based on data transfer ($0.12–$0.19 per GB) and requests ($0.0075 per 10,000). Additional features like WAF or edge computing may incur extra costs. No free tier is offered, and pricing targets enterprise users. Full details are available at https://www.fastly.com/pricing.
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Integrations & DevEx
Fastly supports Terraform for infrastructure-as-code, with recent updates like the Terraform Provider 7.1.0 adding domain metadata and IPv6 preferences. It offers SDKs and APIs for custom integrations, CI/CD pipelines, and real-time analytics. Realtime logs and log-push capabilities integrate with monitoring tools like Splunk or Datadog. Migration tools are limited, but the API-first design simplifies configuration for developers.
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When it fits
- Enterprises needing real-time control and analytics for dynamic content delivery.
- Developers requiring edge computing with Compute@Edge for serverless applications.
- Sites with high-traffic demands in North America, EMEA, or APAC regions.
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When it doesn’t
- Small businesses seeking free tiers or simpler, budget-friendly CDN options.
- Users needing extensive POP coverage in Africa or Latin America.
- Applications requiring advanced video streaming features like HLS/DASH packaging or DRM.
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History & Notes
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Highwinds operated a global network with over 70 points of presence across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, known as RollingThunder. It secured significant funding, including $55 million in 2008 and $205 million in 2013, to expand its CDN infrastructure. After its 2017 acquisition by StackPath, Highwinds’ services were merged but faced integration challenges. Customer feedback on StackPath’s CDN, including Highwinds, highlighted declining support and price increases. Akamai acquired approximately 100 enterprise accounts from StackPath in 2023, but smaller customers needed to find alternatives independently.