What is a CDN and how exactly does it work?

What is a CDN and how exactly does it work?

CDN – this abbreviation is no doubt associated by everyone, not just series and movie lovers, with the expression “the sequel will follow”. However, in the context of the Internet, it means something completely different. Everyone probably knows that the Internet without content would not exist at all. They are the ones that attract users and make them fans of creators or customers of the companies that create them. Content marketing is one of the most important types of Internet marketing, because without content, other types of marketing would not exist. However, content creation alone is not enough. They still have to reach users efficiently. That’s what a CDN is designed to do.

At this point you can imagine CDN as an ATM. Having an ATM on virtually every street corner allows you to get money quickly and efficiently. You don’t have to wait in a long line at the bank, because ATMs are placed in many convenient locations for instant access. Now this is probably clearer, right? However, what exactly is CDN and how does it work? What benefits does it provide? Is it worth implementing it for your website?

What is a CDN?

CDN is an acronym for the phrase “Content Delivery Network,” which means content distribution network. A content distribution network (CDN) refers to a geographically dispersed group of servers that work together to provide rapid delivery of Internet content.

A CDN enables the rapid transfer of resources needed to load web content, including HTML pages, JavaScript files, style sheets, images and videos. The popularity of CDN services continues to grow, and today the majority of Internet traffic is handled by CDNs, including site traffic, even from giants such as Facebook, Amazon and Netflix. With this system, a huge amount of content can reach a number of people.

A CDN is therefore considered the most convenient tool for increasing the speed of websites, so that users do not have to wait long for a page to load. A CDN is a grid of servers that are spread across a wide variety of locations, so that content is displayed to specific users from the locations closest to those servers. The faster loading speed is especially easy to notice when it comes to “heavy elements” (such as graphics or ads). CDN has a very high potential, so you’ll read about it in information on increasing website performance or even their SEO. CDN simply makes the physical distance between the user and the server much shorter.

How does the CDN content distribution network work?

Learn a very simple example of how a content distribution network “behind the scenes” manages traffic to make your online experience as enjoyable as possible.

Think of it as directing traffic in the real world. There may be a single route that is usually the fastest from point A to point B (in a situation where no other cars are traveling on it), but if it starts to get crowded, it is better for all traffic participants if it is spread out over several different routes.

This may mean that you will be diverted to a route that is a few minutes longer (or microseconds, when scaling this phenomenon, in terms of Internet speed), but you won’t get stuck in the traffic jam forming on the route that usually seemed the fastest. Another solution is that you will hit the fastest usual route, but without getting stuck in traffic, as other cars are sent on longer routes. The fact is that without CDN, you would simply be stuck in traffic while surfing the Internet. CDN works on this principle to provide everyone with the best possible web experience.

This is what it looks like, if you wanted to run your imagination, because in more technical terms, when using a CDN, the request is forwarded to the server closest to you (so you don’t wait for all the items to load). What happens when you type a site address into your browser? Mapping. The network selects the appropriate server by your location.

Extremely important here are POPs, or data centers, which are located all over the world. POPs store something like a copy of a website in their cache. What happens when there is a processing problem with the server that is closest to the user’s location? The network looks for another nearest server. If the server is unavailable, the CDN switches to the proxy and will show the content of the site despite this inconvenience.

Is a CDN the same as web hosting?

While a CDN cannot replace the need for proper web hosting, it helps cache content, which improves site performance. Many websites have difficulty meeting the performance needs of traditional hosting services, so they choose a CDN.

By using caches to reduce hosting bandwidth, CDNs prevent service interruptions and improve security. CDNs are a popular solution to alleviate some of the major problems associated with traditional hosting.

Data security – How does CDN protect data?

Information security is an integral part of CDN. CDN can secure your site with new TLS/SSL certificates that will provide a high standard of authentication, encryption and integrity.

Cloud vs CDN

CDNs and cloud computing have been developed to meet the challenges of web content and applications in terms of performance and scalability. The way it works between a CDN and a web cloud is quite similar, but there are certain differences. The Internet cloud allows you to store data on a server, not on your computer. The cloud here is better compared to a flash drive. Which gives access to sundry types of data, the ability to view and download them, anywhere and from any device. CDN, on the other hand, is an extremely sophisticated network of Internet infrastructure.

How does the CDN improve site loading time?

Users are quick to give up when a page loads too slowly. CDN services can help reduce loading times in the following ways:

• The globally distributed nature of CDNs means reducing the distance between users. Instead of connecting to where the site’s source server may be located, a CDN allows users to connect to one that is geographically closer. Shorter travel times simply mean faster performance.
• CDNs can reduce the amount of data transferred by minimizing file sizes using measures such as minification and file compression. Smaller file sizes mean faster load times.
• CDNs can also speed up sites using TLS / SSL certificates by optimizing connection reuse, among other things.

Application of CDN

CDN services were created to solve the problem of network congestion caused by delivering heavy items such as graphics and video over the Internet (remember the story from the beginning? Like a traffic jam). Transmitting content from centrally located servers to individual users simply took too long.

CDNs have grown to include everything from text, graphics, scripts and media files to software, documents, portals, e-commerce and social networking. As you can see, the CDN system is used primarily to improve performance and speed when loading web pages.

Today, all Internet traffic is mostly handled by CDNs. Not only large companies use this system, but also smaller ones. CDN is particularly popular with companies that provide online streaming and other types of multimedia services. CDN enhances the user experience of streaming services and reduces the risk of long content buffering. CDN is also used by companies that do cloud computing or e-commerce. The system is also valued for its greater security – traffic is handled primarily by the CDN, rather than hosting providers, which means that the risk of attacks by cybercriminals is simply reduced.

What are the benefits of using a CDN?

Although the benefits of using a CDN vary depending on the size and needs of the Internet service, the basic benefits for most users can be broken down into 4 different elements:

1. Web page performance, or shortenedprice of website load time: by distributing content, visitors experience faster page load times. Since visitors are more likely to click on faster sites, CDN can reduce wsp órejection rates and increase the amount of time spent on the site. A faster website means more visitors will stay longer. CDN works well when the site is visited by people from different continents. The loading time of websites and their failure rate also affect search engine positioning. The distribution network therefore plays an important role here as well, speeding up page loading and preventing crashes from occurring. This makes it possible for a site to count on a higher position in search results, provided, of course, that all other activities on (and off) the site are done properly.
2. Improve site security – A CDN can improve security by providing DDoS attack mitigation,security certificate enhancementsand other optimizations. CDN traffic is handled through servers, not hosting. Content distribution network providers typically employ additional security measures. So there is less risk of hacking attacks, especially DDoS attacks, which block access to services by causing network congestion. Many servers also allow the use of additional SSL.
3. Price – another important advantage of CDNs is cost, as entrepreneurs who use content distribution networks in particular will find out. Using a CDN is much cheaper than building an entirely new infrastructure from the ground up if more servers are required.
4. Improving UX-High traffic or hardware failures can disrupt normal site operations. Due to its distributed nature, a CDN can handle more traffic, more reliably. This includes access reliability. Every time the CDN runs, the request to open a page goes to the server closest to the user’s location. Even if that server is unavailable, the data goes to another nearest server. In addition, the CDN system is a guarantee of constant network availability. Without this solution, the user sees an error on his screen, and this, of course, acts as a disincentive and takes away the desire to revisit the site. Thus, CDN allows to improve UX, that is, it affects the user experience in a positive way.

Why use a CDN?

For more than 20 years, CDNs have been the invisible backbone of the Internet, delivering online content for shopping, banking, healthcare and other businesses, quickly and at scale. You may not realize it, but if you do almost everything online, CDNs have probably helped provide you with a fast, reliable experience when using the Internet.

Looking at the above advantages, one can confidently say that CDN is a favorable solution in many cases. However, the decision to use a content distribution network must be well analyzed. In the case where most of the users of a given website live in the same region where hosting is available, the CDN system is not at all a necessity and can be abandoned. There are even times when its implementation does more harm than good.

However, they are especially useful when a website is popular with users from different corners of the world. A content distribution network is a good choice then, because data must travel great distances to users, which can slow down loading and reduce page performance.

So if you’re running a website only for local users or only those living in Poland, it’s better to stay with hosting. Hosting providers are plentiful and you can easily find attractive deals. One of them is Kru.pl from the ITH group – check out the site KRU.co.uk. In addition to hosting, the company offers services such as data center, ITH Cloud, domains, telephone services and much more, both for large companies and smaller businesses. In addition, the company offers carrier and installation services. ITH will also take care of the security of a company’s Internet infrastructure with its ITH Security service.

Hosting is recommended for all website owners without foreign reach. CDN, on the other hand, is mainly recommended for online stores, large, popular sites, multilingual sites or sites with foreign traffic. However, they can also use this system for nationwide sites, as the increased performance results in a higher position in search results. Of course, when wanting to implement a CDN for your website, it is important to remember that it must be done skillfully. Only then will all the advantages of a data distribution network be noticeable.