Netflix wants to revamp its data architecture for streaming content

Netflix’s current distributed stateful system, which is capable of tracking the interaction and video consumption of its users and react appropriately, the company feels that “ended up with a complex solution that was less robust than mature open source technologies” and wants something that’s more scalable.”

Netflix is revamping the computing architecture that processes data for its streaming video service, according to a Netflix blog post that came out on Tuesday. The Netflix engineering team wanted an architecture that can handle three key areas the video-streaming giant believes greatly affects the user experience: knowing what titles a person has watched; knowing where in a given title did a person stop watching; and knowing what else is being watched on someone’s account, which is helpful for family members who may be sharing one account.