Cloud Computing
Content Delivery Network
Definition
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their data centers. The goal is to provide high availability and performance by distributing the service spatially relative to end-users.
Why It Matters
CDNs make websites faster and more reliable. By caching content (like images, videos, and CSS files) on servers that are physically closer to the user, they dramatically reduce latency and decrease the load on the origin server.
Contextual Example
A user in Japan visits a website hosted on a server in the US. Instead of fetching an image all the way from the US, the user's browser downloads it from a CDN server located in Tokyo. This is much faster and reduces traffic to the US server.
Common Misunderstandings
- CDNs are a crucial part of the infrastructure for almost all major websites, streaming services, and online applications.
- In addition to caching, CDNs can also provide security benefits, such as DDoS mitigation.