1. Let me state the conclusion first.

Choose the right network for different purposes

① Short video: Native residential IP

② Live broadcast: native IP acceleration solution, dedicated live broadcast network

③ Playing around: Airport

④ Watch live broadcast: Airport, native IP acceleration solution

⑤ Unmanned live broadcast: dedicated live broadcast network

2. Principles and selection basis of various networks

1. Airport: Suitable for playing

(1) What is an airport?

We can make an analogy like this: there are many planes in an airport, and all the planes are flying to all parts of the world. So the meaning of an airport is that there are many IPs (also called nodes) from different countries and cities. The advantage is that it is very cheap, the cheapest is 5 yuan, and the most expensive is only a few dozen yuan. The disadvantage is that it is shared, and many people are using it at the same time, so the speed is slow and it is not safe.

(2) Why it is not recommended to use airports to monetize TikTok

At the airport, there will be native IPs and non-native IPs, but most of them are non-native IPs. Basically, hundreds of people are using them at the same time, and you have no idea what they are doing. The IPs may have been abused and blacklisted or grayed out by TIkTok long ago, which actually poses a huge risk.

TikTok is a platform that changes very quickly, so we should not waste a lot of time worrying about network selection. What is more important is to run through the process and run the MVP model. When you have achieved a certain level, then consider the network cost. Because often at this time, you also have the knowledge to judge the network. Many people I know initially thought that a network cost hundreds of yuan, which was very expensive, while an airport only cost tens of yuan, but those who used the airport often did not make it to the day of monetization.

2. Native IP – suitable for short videos

(1) What is native IP?

Native IP is divided into computer room IP and residential IP.

The difference between a residential IP and a computer room IP can be simply understood as follows: a residential IP is a real person, and a computer room is a fake person (which we call a robot); TikTok's risk control will identify whether you are a residential IP or a computer room, and it can process your data in a targeted manner. In simple terms, TikTok can limit the flow of traffic, perform risk control, and other operations on you at any time.

In fact, high-quality residential IPs are very difficult to obtain, because this is determined by the characteristics of its IP attributes. In fact, there are many countries that do not sell it to other countries and only allow domestic purchase and use. There are also some that are specifically not allowed to be purchased by domestic players.

Based on this, many unreliable network service providers will use non-native IPs as native IPs for delivery, and the cost difference between them is 300-500. Here is a method to check whether the IP is native.

Use this website: https://ipinfo.io/

In fact, self-checking is very simple. After entering the IP on this website, just check whether the registration location of the IP is consistent with the location of the computer room.

For example, if the IP registration location is shown as the United States, but its data center is in the UK, it is not native.

(2) When making short videos, you must choose native residential IP

First of all, we need to figure out what we want to do. If we want to monetize short videos, then we will undoubtedly choose residential IP for the following reasons:

① TikTok has a relatively high risk control level for short videos.

If it is a residential IP, TikTok will recognize that you are a real user, and you will be more resistant to risks. When you encounter some risk control dates (such as certain national conferences), there is a greater probability that you will not be subject to risk control.

② Residential IP has greater weight for TikTok accounts.

Due to the different IP attributes, TikTok will identify residential IP as real person and give it greater weight. Our actual test found that under the same short video content, the basic traffic of residential IP is around 1K-2K, while the basic traffic of computer room IP is only 200-500.

3. Native IP acceleration solution – suitable for early live broadcast

(1) Distinguish the difference between IP and line

TikTok does not have such a high level of risk control for live streaming, and there is not much difference between residential IP and data center IP. However, the real-time speed requirement is very high, so the concept of "line" is introduced here.

Simply put, IP is our destination , and the route is the path we take to reach this destination.

(2) What is the native IP acceleration solution?

Once you have distinguished between IP and lines, it will be easier to understand the [acceleration plan]. Simply put, it is to choose different [lines].

For example, from Beijing to Shanghai, we can take the road, which can take many twists and turns but still eventually arrive, or we can take the high-speed rail which is relatively faster. Even faster is to take a plane and arrive in a straight line without stopping or taking detours. Acceleration is a similar concept. We use another server to connect directly, reduce the intermediate links, speed up the process, and thus reduce the latency.

(3) Advantages and disadvantages of native IP acceleration solutions

As we all know, during some major festivals or time nodes in our country, lines and IPs are easily affected by risk control, which will slow down or directly block them. Therefore, the disadvantage of using [native IP acceleration solution] for live broadcast is that it will face such a situation and the stability will be a little worse. If we just want to watch live broadcasts and interact, or in the early stage of live broadcast exploration, this method is more suitable.

The advantage of this method is also obvious, that is, the cost is relatively low, generally 200-500 yuan.

4. Formal filing hotline – suitable for stable and long-term live broadcast

(1) What is a dedicated line?

A dedicated line is a point-to-point transmission method that is more direct and stable. We compare the network to a highway, which usually has public lanes and dedicated lanes. A dedicated line is similar to a dedicated lane, which is not crowded with public lanes and has better connectivity.

(2) How to choose a dedicated line

We can see from the market that normal dedicated lines are generally very expensive, ranging from several thousand to five-digit prices. When we cannot make more money through live streaming, it is recommended to use some cheap dedicated line solutions.

There are two types of dedicated lines we generally use:

① 4M dedicated live broadcast: You can bind a device to broadcast live, which is relatively safe and stable. The disadvantage is that it can only be used in one live broadcast room.

② 8M dedicated live broadcast: can be used in two live broadcast rooms at the same time, the configuration is higher than 4M, and it can also run unmanned live broadcast.

The prices of these two types are not much different. Both are built using sdwan technology, and the average cost of a live broadcast room is about 800 yuan per month.

So, don't be ripped off by those dedicated line service providers who charge thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars a month. After all, I think 800 a month is the ceiling I can accept.

3. Final Thoughts

No network is absolutely safe and stable

I hope to let everyone know here that no network solution is absolutely safe and stable, so when looking for a network service provider, in addition to paying attention to the product itself, you should also pay attention to whether the service is in place. Because most of the technologies on the market are the same, a reliable service provider should solve the problem as soon as it occurs. You don’t need to care about the solution process, but only focus on the speed and results of the solution.