http2.akamai.comHTTP/2: the Future of the Internet | Akamai

You are using HTTP/2 right now! Click here for a DEMO Turn-on HTTP/2 today! HTTP/2 [1] is real and available today with Akamai. The standard was approved February 2015 , and most of the leading browsers already support it . Akamai customers can enable it right now with a few clicks without requiring any changes on the origin infrastructure. The web has dramatically evolved over the last 20+ years, yet HTTP - the workhorse of the Web - has not. Web developers have worked around HTTP’s limitations, but: Performance still falls short of full bandwidth utilization Web design and maintenance are more complex Resource consumption increases for client and server Cacheability of resources suffers HTTP/2 attempts to solve many of the shortcomings and inflexibilities of HTTP/1.1. Its many benefits include: Multiplexing and concurrency : Several requests can be sent in rapid succession on the same TCP connection, and responses can be received out of order - eliminating the need for multiple connections between the client and the server Stream dependencies: the client can indicate to the server which of the resources are more important than the others Header compression: HTTP header size is drastically reduced Server push: The server can send resources the client has not yet requested You will not need to change your websites or applications to ensure they continue to work properly. Not only will your application code and HTTP APIs continue to work uninterrupted, but your application will also likely perform better and consume fewer resources on both client and server. As it becomes more prevalent, organizations looking to benefit from the performance and security features of HTTP/2 should start thinking about how they are invested to fully capitalize on these new capabilities. Such considerations include: Encrypting: Applications running over HTTP/2 are likely to experience improvements in performance over secure connections. This is an important consideration for companies contemplating the move to TLS. Optimizing the TCP layer: Applications should be designed with a TCP layer implemented to account for the switch from multiple TCP connections to a single long-lived one, especially when adjusting the congestion window in response to packet loss. Undoing HTTP/1.1 best practices: Many "best practices" associated with applications delivered over HTTP/1.1 (such as domain sharding, image spriting, resource in-lining and concatenation) are not only unnecessary when delivering over HTTP/2, and in some cases may actually cause sub-optimizations. Deciding what and when to push: Applications designed to take advantage of the new server push capabilities in HTTP/2 must be carefully designed to balance performance and utility. Akamai can help and is working hard to address these and additional challenges, including possibly the toughest one: optimizing differently for HTTP/1.1 vs. HTTP/2 connections as browsers and other clients gradually transition over the next several years. HTTP/2 is available on Akamai to all customers using qualifying products to deliver TLS encrypted web content. Mark Nottingham chairs the IETF working group that defined the new standard - demonstrating our commitment to benefit users, content providers, service providers, developers and the Internet community at large It is important to note that Akamai and leading browsers intend to stop supporting SPDY when HTTP/2 is ready to take its place. For questions, please reach out to your Akamai representative, visit the Akamai Community or click here to contact us. Must Read Learning HTTP/2 book, by Stephen Ludin and Javier Garza (March 31, 2016) Insights from Experts Concur shares experience using H2 (March 31, 2016) Nespresso shares experience using H2 (March 15, 2016) Akamai’s Stephen Ludin on Internet evolution (February 10, 2016) Additional Reading How to validate certificate h2 support using openssl» HTTP/2 value confirmation using RUM» Stephen Ludin’s blogpost about optimizing for both HTTP/1 and HTTP/2» Akamai helps drive adoption of http/2» Stephen Ludin’s blog: Is HTTP/2 worth the performance price of TLS?» Webcast recording: HTTP/2 Uncovered: Top Tips for Successful Implementation. (By Richard Still from The Financial Times, and Michael Gooding from Akamai Technologies)» Stephen Ludin’s post: With HTTP/2, Akamai Introduces Next Gen Web » Mark Nottingham talks about HTTP/2» Mark Nottinghams’ post: Nine Things to Expect from HTTP/2 » HTTP/2 Page on GitHub » 1. Formerly know as HTTP/2.0 or HTTP 2.0...