Akamai Global Traffic Management
Load balancing software
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What is Akamai Global Traffic Management
Akamai Global Traffic Management (GTM) is a DNS-based global load balancing service that routes users to the most appropriate data center or cloud endpoint based on health checks, geography, and performance-related signals. It is used by enterprises operating multi-region or multi-cloud applications that need high availability and controlled traffic steering. GTM integrates with Akamai’s edge platform and monitoring to support failover and traffic distribution policies without requiring customer-managed load balancer appliances.
DNS-based global traffic steering
GTM provides global load balancing by answering DNS queries with the best endpoint based on configured policies. This approach works across heterogeneous environments (multiple clouds, data centers, and CDNs) because it does not require a specific in-path proxy or appliance. It supports common patterns such as active-active distribution and active-passive failover. It is well-suited for directing users to regional entry points before local load balancers handle in-region balancing.
Integrated health checks and failover
GTM includes health monitoring to detect endpoint or site failures and adjust DNS responses accordingly. This enables automated failover between regions or providers when an origin becomes unhealthy. Health checks can be combined with weighting and policy rules to control how traffic shifts during incidents. For organizations that already use Akamai services, this can reduce the number of separate monitoring and traffic-steering tools required.
Enterprise controls and policy options
GTM supports policy-driven routing such as geographic targeting, weighted distribution, and conditional failover behaviors. These controls help teams implement rollout strategies (for example, gradual traffic shifts) and resilience designs across multiple sites. DNS-based steering also avoids adding application-layer latency from an additional proxy hop. It fits enterprise operational models where centralized control over traffic routing is required.
DNS caching limits immediacy
Because GTM operates via DNS responses, changes propagate according to DNS TTLs and resolver caching behavior. This can delay traffic shifts compared with in-path load balancers that can reroute per request. During fast-moving incidents, some users may continue to resolve to an impaired endpoint until caches expire. Organizations often need to tune TTLs carefully, balancing responsiveness against DNS query volume.
Not a local L7 load balancer
GTM does not replace in-region load balancing features such as per-connection routing, advanced L7 rules, or service-to-service routing inside a cluster. Teams typically still deploy local load balancers or ingress controllers for application-layer routing and east-west traffic management. This adds architectural components and operational coordination between global DNS steering and local balancing layers. Buyers expecting a single tool for both global and local balancing may find the scope limited.
Platform-specific configuration complexity
Implementing robust policies (multi-region, multi-cloud, staged failover) can require careful configuration and ongoing testing. Integrations with existing monitoring, CI/CD, and change management processes may take time, especially in environments with many properties and endpoints. Cost and governance can also become more complex as usage scales across many applications and regions. Organizations may need specialized expertise to operate it effectively at enterprise scale.
Seller details
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
Cambridge, MA, USA
1998
Public
https://www.akamai.com
https://x.com/Akamai
https://www.linkedin.com/company/akamai-technologies/
