Staged deployment of rendezvous tables for selecting a content delivery network (CDN)

1. A computer-implemented method in a content delivery network (CDN), wherein said CDN delivers content on behalf of at least one content provider, and wherein the CDN includes a rendezvous system that selects CDN servers for clients, the method comprising:

in response to a request by a rendezvous mechanism in said rendezvous system, evaluating a first given function;

splitting a table generation mechanism into a first table generation mechanism and a second table generation mechanism; and

based on the outcome of said evaluating, said rendezvous mechanism using either a first table or a second table, wherein said first given function is indicative of a transition rate from using said first table to using said second table, wherein (i) said first table was generated by said first table generation mechanism for use by said rendezvous mechanism to select CDN servers for clients, and wherein (ii) said second table was generated by said second table generation mechanism for use by said rendezvous mechanism to select CDN servers for clients.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said first given function evaluates to either a first value or a second value, and wherein said first table is used when said first given function evaluates to said first value, and said second table is used when said first given function evaluates to said second value.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said first given function initially evaluates to said first value more than to said second value based on the transition rate, and wherein said first given function evaluates increasingly to said second value over time based on the transition rate.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said first given function evaluates to said second value linearly over time.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said first given function evaluates to said second value exponentially over time.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein, after a certain time, said first given function evaluates only to said second value.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said first table continues to be produced after said certain time.

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein said rendezvous system comprises a plurality of rendezvous mechanisms, and wherein said plurality of rendezvous mechanisms are divided into two distinct groups consisting of a first group of rendezvous mechanisms and a second group of rendezvous mechanisms, and wherein, until a certain condition is met, the first given function evaluates to the first value for rendezvous mechanisms in the first group, and wherein the first given function evaluates to either the first value or the second value for rendezvous mechanisms in the second group.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the certain condition is considered to be met when a majority of rendezvous mechanisms in said second group have been given the second table.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the certain condition is considered to be met when all of the rendezvous mechanisms in said second group have been given the second table.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein, after the certain condition is met, the first given function evaluates to either the first value or the second value for rendezvous mechanisms in the first group.

12. The method of claim 2 wherein said first given function comprises a selection based on a value set by an operator.

13. The method of claim 2 wherein said first given function is based on an element of the request.

14. The method of claim 2 wherein a selection is policy specified in a configuration of a name being resolved.

15. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions, operable on a computer system in a content delivery network (CDN) and, when executed by a processor in said CDN, cause said processor to:

in response to a request by a rendezvous mechanism in a rendezvous system of the CDN, evaluate a first given function;

splitting a table generation mechanism into a first table generation mechanism and a second table generation mechanism; and

based on the outcome of said evaluating, said rendezvous mechanism use either a first table or a second table, wherein said first given function is indicative of a transition rate from using said first table to using said second table, wherein (i) said first table was generated by said first table generation mechanism for use by said rendezvous mechanism to select CDN servers for clients, and wherein (ii) said second table was generated by said second table generation mechanism for use by said rendezvous mechanism to select CDN servers for clients.