It is the mysterious network that makes sure your TV shows are streamed perfectly.

While Netflix is extremely secretive about its server network, researchers claim to have uncovered exactly how it works - and where its servers really are.

They found 233 locations across six continents are used to stream globally.

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While Netflix is extremely secretive abut its server network, researchers claim to have uncovered 233 locations across six continents that are used to stream globally.

OUR NETFLIX ADDICTION Cordcutting.com calculated numbers from Netflix earlier this month and found members spend even less time reading, relaxing or exercising. The average subscriber spends one hour and 40 minutes a day binge watching, which is compared to the 38 minutes a day they are 'socializing and communicating'. This statistic suggests that Netflix fans are spending twice as much time cuddled on the couch with their remote than they do hanging out with friends. The average American works out for just 17 minutes a day, so, according to the calculations, Netflix members spend about six times more surfing through movie and show titles. Advertisement

Scientists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) revealed the network infrastructure by mimicking the film request process from all over the world and analyzing the responses.

The study is believed to be the first to map Netflix's physical server distribution all over the world.

Researchers from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science found servers deployed at 233 locations across six continents.

The results show that the USA accounts for a vast majority of the traffic, unexpectedly followed by Mexico, UK, Canada, and Brazil.

Their findings confirm the importance of various regions as major Netflix markets, judging by the sheer server deployment in them.

As one of the world's largest video on demand platforms, Netflix delivers a large amount of Internet traffic.

But it has so far remained a mystery how the platform delivers its traffic, in order to avoid video stalling during playback.

Over April and May 2016, the five researchers from QMUL requested videos from university computers, localizing the requests using a browser extension.

They studied the traffic delivered by the servers in each region, highlighting the relative reliance on Internet eXchange Points (IXPs) and Internet Service Providers' (ISPs) servers.

HOW NETFLIX MAKES SURE YOUR STREAM NEVER STUTTERS The findings show Netflix uses different strategies for different countries. For instance, while in North America, Netflix is present in many locations simultaneously, the deployment situation in Europe is different. For most countries in Europe, Netflix servers are deployed at only a few, probably carefully chosen, locations per country. The notable exception to this scheme is the United Kingdom, where the researchers observed widespread deployment across the whole country, particularly within ISPs. Timm Boettger, first-author of the paper from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, said: 'The different deployment strategies observed are caused by inherent regional differences, forcing Netflix to adapt its strategy to ensure low movie start-up times and to avoid video stalling during playback. 'These differences are not only caused by how well an ISP connects its end-users, but also by how well different intermediary networks and ISPs interconnect and exchange traffic.' It also highlights how important the IXPs are. An Internet exchange point (IX or IXP) is a physical infrastructure through which Internet service providers (ISPs) and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) exchange Internet traffic between their networks, and are the hubs of the online world. Professor Steve Uhlig, the senior supervisor of the team, said: 'This study highlights the importance of the still vastly under-appreciated IXP ecosystem. Indeed, IXPs are vital to supporting high-speed connectivity in the Internet, especially for large content delivery players such as Netflix.' Advertisement

The findings expose significant differences between countries and continents. While in North America, Netflix is present in many locations simultaneously, the deployment situation in Europe is different.

For most countries in Europe, Netflix servers are deployed at only a few, probably carefully chosen locations per country.

Netflix is yet to confirm the rumours, however, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix said earlier this year that he was open to the idea. He is pictured here talking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas

The notable exception to this scheme is the United Kingdom, where the researchers observed widespread deployment across the whole country, particularly within ISPs.

On a per country level, the study pinpointed different strategies used by Netflix to choose the locations to place servers in.

Timm Boettger, first-author of the paper from the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, said: 'The study is important as it provides an insight into how today's Internet works.

'The different deployment strategies observed are caused by inherent regional differences, forcing Netflix to adapt its strategy to ensure low movie start-up times and to avoid video stalling during playback.

'These differences are not only caused by how well an ISP connects its end-users, but also by how well different intermediary networks and ISPs interconnect and exchange traffic.'