Introduction

Ever wonder what actually powers a Demand-Side Platform (DSP)?

To most advertisers, a DSP is a slick dashboard with buttons for targeting and bidding.
But behind the scenes lies a complex stack of high-performance technologies that make real-time advertising possible at scale.

In this post, we’ll break it all down.

💡 You’ll learn:
✅ What makes up a complete AdTech stack
✅ How each layer plays a role in campaign success
✅ Why having the right infrastructure matters for speed, accuracy, and scale
✅ How AdTech Europe’s DSP is built with performance and transparency at its core

1. The Load Balancer: Directing the Traffic

Every second, a DSP receives millions of bid requests from exchanges.

✔ The load balancer distributes this traffic efficiently to backend services.
✔ It also handles SSL termination and ensures that no single server is overwhelmed.

💡 In AdTech Europe’s DSP, this layer enables scalability and high uptime, even during traffic spikes.

2. The Bidder: The Core of Real-Time Bidding

The bidder is the DSP’s heart.

✔ It receives bid requests from exchanges.
✔ It evaluates each impression in milliseconds using campaign rules.
✔ It decides whether to bid, how much to bid, and which creative to serve.

💡 AdTech Europe’s bidder is built in Java with the Spring Framework, using asynchronous logic to handle massive volumes in real time.

3. Targeting & Decision Engine

The decision engine checks every bid request against your campaign’s targeting rules, including:

✔ GEOs
✔ Devices
✔ OS versions
✔ Time zones
✔ Frequency caps
✔ Audience segments

💡 This engine is optimized for fast filtering and high match accuracy—essential for ROI-focused performance marketers.

4. Real-Time Storage (Aerospike)

Once the bidder selects an impression, the platform needs a way to:

✔ Store counters (like impressions and clicks)
✔ Track budgets
✔ Sync users in real time

AdTech Europe uses Aerospike, a lightning-fast NoSQL database, to manage all of this with sub-millisecond latency.

5. Event Logging (Kafka & Win Trackers)

Every win, impression, and click is logged immediately.

✔ Kafka is used as the message queue system.
✔ All events are pushed into it for real-time processing or later analysis.

💡 This enables detailed attribution, troubleshooting, and fraud checks in milliseconds.

6. Statistics & Reporting Database (ClickHouse)

All campaign stats are processed and visualized through ClickHouse, a columnar DB optimized for analytics.

✔ It powers dashboards, charts, and reports
✔ Handles billions of rows of ad performance data
✔ Allows for ultra-fast querying, even at scale

💡 AdTech Europe’s clients see real-time stats updated instantly, without delays.

7. Logs & Big Data Analysis (AWS S3 + Athena)

✔ Bid logs, win logs, and impression logs are stored in Parquet format inside AWS S3
✔ Athena allows users to query logs directly using SQL
✔ Perfect for audits, fraud analysis, and custom data exports

💡 You can prove traffic quality with traceable log-level data—no black box here.

8. Frontend (ReactJS + Ant Design)

The user interface matters, too.

✔ AdTech Europe’s DSP dashboard is built in ReactJS
✔ Uses Ant Design components for speed, usability, and responsiveness
✔ Everything is integrated with the backend via Swagger API

💡 It’s not just pretty—it’s blazing fast and user-friendly.

9. Business Database (MySQL)

✔ All business-level data like user accounts, billing info, and campaigns are stored in MySQL
✔ This database is optimized for security, backups, and stability
✔ Works in sync with the real-time systems and reporting layers

10. Anti-Fraud Filters & Partner Integrations

✔ AI-driven fraud detection tools
✔ IP blacklists and bot filters
✔ External integrations like Escalated.io for 3rd-party verification

💡 Real-time filtering at multiple layers means clean traffic, safe campaigns, and better ROI.

Why the Stack Matters

✅ Speed: You win or lose a bid in under 100ms.
✅ Scale: Billions of impressions per day need robust infrastructure.
✅ Accuracy: Every dollar counts—so does every click.
✅ Transparency: Clear logs, clean data, fast reporting = trust.

💡 If your stack is weak, your campaigns suffer. Period.

Why AdTech Europe Is Built to Perform

✔ Enterprise-grade infrastructure
✔ Battle-tested architecture
✔ Transparent log-level data
✔ Modular, scalable, and customizable
✔ Available as white-label DSP or managed platform

🚀 Whether you’re launching a niche network or scaling to global volumes, AdTech Europe is the platform behind your performance.

Final Thoughts: Know What You’re Running On

✅ Great campaign results come from great infrastructure.
✅ Behind every click, view, and conversion is a high-speed, real-time stack doing heavy lifting.
✅ With AdTech Europe, you don’t just run campaigns—you run on tech you can trust.

📩 Ready to launch or upgrade your DSP? Let’s talk.