Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a system of distributed networks that deliver pages and other web content to a user, based on the geographic location of the requesting user.
The closer the Content Delivery Network (CDN) server is to the user geographically, as a result, the faster the content will be delivered to the requesting user.
Content Delivery Network (CDN) consists of two components:-
- First, Origin Server – where the content to be distributed over the internet is stored originally.
- And, Cache Server- where the content is duplicated.
How does CDN work?
Network (Server) which is nearest to the visitor’s website will respond to the request of the visitor.
After that, it copies the pages of a website to a network of servers and disperses them across different geographical locations, caching the content of the page.
When a user requests a webpage from a CDN, the request is redirected to a nearby server, which delivers the cached content.
It will also communicate with the originating server to deliver any content that has not been previously cached.
Benefits of Using CDN:-
- Generally, it Improves the website load time
- Improves content accessibility across the globe
- Reducing bandwidth costs
- Increasing content availability and redundancy
- Improving website security
Few Examples of CDN Providers:-
- RACKSPACE
- GOOGLE CLOUD CDN
- MAX CDN
- AKAMAI
- SWARMIFY
- LIMELIGHT
- MICROSOFT AZURE CDN
- AMAZON CLOUDFRONT
- CLOUDFLARE
- KEY CDN
- STACKPATH CDN
- SOFTLAYER CDN
- INCAPSULA CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK
- CACHE FLY
- CDN 77
MaxCDN –
Its servers are equipped with fast SSD drives spread across data centers around the world. It is super easy to install and setup MaxCDN in WordPress.
However, it works beautifully with popular WordPress caching plugins like W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache.
Cloudflare –
They are known for offering a free CDN for small websites, but the free plan has limited DDoS protection and fewer features than the paid plans.
In addition, they also have an ‘I am under attack Mode’ feature.
KeyCDN –
It offers pay as you go plans, which means you pay for what you use instead of fixed monthly payment.
In addition, they offer a powerful network of servers spread across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions.
Akamai Content Delivery Network (CDN) –
It is an American CDN and cloud service provider with one of the world’s largest distributed computing platforms, responsible for serving between 15% and 30% of all the web traffic.
Amazon Cloudfront –
Amazon Cloudfront servers are located in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, as well as in several major cities of the US.
And this service operates on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Google Cloud Content Delivery Network (CDN) –
Is it based on Google’s globally distributed edge points of presence?
We reduce costs and improve user experience by connecting Google traffic to our global network of interconnection points.
Microsoft Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) –
It is a global CDN for audio, video, apps, images, and static files, caching assets closer to users to boost performance.
CDN Performance Analytics and Comparison:
Comparison among different CDN providers’ uptime in past one year: https://www.cdnperf.com/#!rum,world,2019-01-22
Comparison among different CDN providers’ performance in past one year: https://www.cdnperf.com/#!performance,world,2019-01-22
In conclusion, CDN is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their data centers.
The goal is to provide high availability and high performance by distributing the service spatially relative to end-users. In our future blogs, we will discuss leading CDN providers of upcoming years.
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