A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a globally distributed proxy server network deployed in various data centers. CDNs are also well-suited to deliver streaming video, audio and IPTV services.
CDN Architecture
CDNs have brought about a sea-change in the global delivery pattern of large data files. This is largely owing to its architecture.
In a CDN, content exists on strategically dispersed servers in the form of multiple copies. The CDNs pull the customer’s website data from the origin servers alongside caching it on to their own network. These networks consist of multiple servers located where traffic levels are the highest.
When a webpage is requested, the CDN redirects the request from the server of the originating site to a CDN server that is closest to the user and the cached content is then delivered. The CDN also communicates with the originating server to deliver content that haven’t been previously cached. It is possible for a large CDN to have thousands of servers worldwide, in turn making it possible for the service provider to send the same piece of content to computing devices of multiple requesting clients reliably and efficiently. It works efficiently even in case of limited bandwidth and sudden spikes in demand.
Why is CDN required?
An identical copy of each piece of content is placed on the CDN servers. As soon as the end user requests content, they are intelligently re-routed to the servers of the CDN located closest to them.
This basically offers two key benefits:
- Data response time and latency is enhanced.
- Errors are minimized and download speeds and file integrity are enhanced.
