What is a CDN?

A content delivery network (CDN) is a geographically distributed group of servers that speeds up the delivery of web content by caching it closer to users.

What is a CDN?

A content delivery network (CDN) refers to a geographically distributed group of servers which work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content. A CDN allows for the quick transfer of assets needed for loading Internet content including HTML pages, JavaScript files, stylesheets, images, and videos.

How does a CDN work?

At its core, a CDN places content in many points-of-presence (PoPs) around the world. When a user requests content, the CDN routes the request to the closest edge server, reducing the distance the data needs to travel and improving load times.

What are the benefits of using a CDN?

  • Improving website load times by distributing content closer to visitors
  • Reducing bandwidth costs through caching and optimization
  • Increasing content availability and redundancy
  • Improving website security by providing DDoS mitigation and security certificates

How does a CDN improve load times?

CDNs use caching to store copies of content at edge servers. When a user in Tokyo accesses a website hosted in New York, the CDN serves the cached content from a nearby server in Asia instead of making the user wait for a response from the origin server across the Pacific.