Every app serving content uses CDN.
Do you know how a Content Delivery Network works?
One of the major components used in streaming applications like Netflix etc is dependant on a component called Content Delivery Network. Let’s discuss how it works.
1) A content delivery network (CDN) refers to a geographically distributed group of servers that 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.
2) To understand why CDNs are so widely used, you first need to recognize the issue they’re designed to solve. Known as latency, it’s the annoying delay that occurs from the moment you request to load a web page to the moment its content actually appears onscreen.
3) That delay interval is affected by a number of factors, many being specific to a given web page. In all cases, however, the delay duration is impacted by the physical distance between you and that website’s hosting server. A CDN’s mission is to virtually shorten that physical distance, the goal being to improve site rendering speed and performance.
4) While a CDN does not host content and can’t replace the need for proper web hosting, it does help cache content at the network edge, which improves website performance. Many websites struggle to have their performance needs to be met by traditional hosting services, which is why they opt for CDNs.
5) At its core, a CDN is a network of servers linked together with the goal of delivering content as quickly, cheaply, reliably, and securely as possible. In order to improve speed and connectivity, a CDN will place servers at the exchange points between different networks.
6) There are many CDN’s available across the globe. But Netflix developed their own CDN system called Open Connect to provide the best user experience. Although the existing CDNs were doing the job fine, they wanted to make sure that the correct file is at the correct server and provide users with the best experience.
7) Netflix partners with the ISP network providers and provide them with their open connect appliances. They cache the content for a particular location in Off-peak hours. The content is cached on local open-connect appliances and whenever a user requests, they are able to find the required file in most cases.
8) Information security is an integral part of a CDN. a CDN can keep a site secured with fresh TLS/SSL certificates which will ensure a high standard of authentication, encryption, and integrity. Investigate the security concerns surrounding CDNs, and explore what can be done to securely deliver content.
