OpenRTB means Open Real-Time Bidding. It is an open protocol maintained by IAB Tech Lab for exchanging bid requests and bid responses between advertising systems. RTB is the auction process; OpenRTB standardizes the messages that participating systems exchange.
OpenRTB vs RTB: protocol and auction
Real-time bidding is the process of inviting and evaluating bids for an advertising opportunity. OpenRTB defines a common message format for that process. A compatible endpoint still needs partner agreements, routing, validation, capacity controls and reporting before it can support a production business.
Where SSPs, DSPs and ad exchanges fit
A supply-side platform (SSP) represents publisher inventory. A demand-side platform (DSP) evaluates opportunities on behalf of advertisers. An ad exchange connects eligible supply and demand and applies auction rules. OpenRTB lets these systems describe an opportunity and return bids using a shared contract; it does not replace any of those operating roles.
The request lifecycle
A publisher or SSP creates a bid request describing an impression opportunity. An exchange or routing layer validates it, selects eligible demand endpoints and waits within a bounded auction window. DSPs return bids, the auction chooses an eligible result and the delivery path records notices and outcomes.
- Supply request validation
- Demand endpoint selection
- Auction timeout boundary
- Bid and win visibility
What a bid request and bid response contain
A bid request describes one or more impression opportunities, with format and site or app context. A bid response can contain a price, a reference to the impression being bid on and creative information. A buyer can also decline to bid. A selected bid is an auction result; ad delivery and commercial reconciliation need their own event evidence.
What the protocol does not solve
OpenRTB does not decide which commercial relationships are valid, how much QPS a partner may send, which filters protect inventory or how operators investigate loss reasons. Those responsibilities belong to the platform operating around the bidstream.
How Nexus approaches OpenRTB
Nexus places tenant configuration, demand routes, QPS governance, endpoint mappings and operational visibility around the auction service. The objective is a bidstream commercial and technical teams can reason about together.
This guide describes Nexus product architecture and general AdTech operating concepts. Exact enforcement and integration behavior depends on the enabled revenue engine and agreed deployment configuration.
Published by Nexus Soft.
Content revised
Sources and product scope
Product references describe available controls and their limits. Examples are illustrative.