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CDN (Content distribution network) is a content distribution system on the Internet that uses servers located in different parts of the world to provide a website’s content to users optimally and at high speed. CDN is used to distribute video, image, audio, and text content and is widely used in the web applications and websites industry.

History

As they are known today, content distribution networks began in the 1990s. Founded by MIT scientists, Akamai Technologies launched the first CDN in 1998.

Originally, content distribution networks were used to reduce the loading time of web pages on the Internet. As the volume of video and other large content increased, CDN companies began to offer services to distribute video and other large content. Today, major CDN companies such as Akamai, Cloudflare, Amazon Web Services, and Fastly provide their content distribution network services to companies and websites worldwide.

CDN Infrastructure

Content distribution networks (CDN) consist of different infrastructures and technologies. These infrastructures and technologies include the following:

1- Virtual servers: CDN companies often use virtual servers for faster access to server resources. These servers are designed to process user requests and transfer content efficiently and quickly.

2- Content management software: CDN companies use content management software to simplify uploading and managing content. This software includes cache management, traffic and visitor management, and management of various protocols.

3- Communication protocols: CDN companies use different communication protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, SSL/TLS, and TCP to communicate with other servers and devices. These protocols are designed for secure and stable communication with other devices.

4- Programming language: CDN companies use different programming languages, such as C++, Java, Python, and Ruby, to develop and maintain their systems.

In general, content distribution networks consist of different infrastructures and technologies, all designed to provide better and faster services to content providers and users.

Advantages of CDN

The benefits of using a CDN include the following:

1- Increasing the speed of loading web pages

By using CDN, a website’s content is provided to users from servers located in different parts of the world. This feature reduces the loading time of web pages and increases their loading speed. In fact, the use of content distribution networks, due to having multiple servers worldwide, leads to a decrease in the loading time of web pages. With a CDN, users far from your website’s main server use servers closer to them to download site content. This will reduce the content’s loading time and increase the web page’s speed.
As a simple and efficient solution to improve the loading speed of web pages, CDN improves the user experience by reducing the loading time.

2- Reducing server load

The use of content distribution networks can help reduce the load of the website’s main server by transferring the traffic load from the main site server to the CDN servers. In this process, a part of your website traffic is transferred to CDN servers, reducing the load of the main website server.
In general, in the normal case, users who access your website send their requests to the website’s main server and get the information they need from there. But by using content distribution networks, CDN servers act as intermediaries between the user and the main server and direct user requests from the website’s main server to one of the CDN servers.
By reducing the load on the main server, web page loading speeds increase, and website performance improves. Also, the possibility of experiencing problems such as slow loading of web pages or server errors is reduced.
Therefore, using a CDN is considered an efficient and simple solution to reduce the load of the website’s main server.

3- Increasing reliability

Using content distribution networks can help increase website reliability and performance due to having multiple servers worldwide. In this system, the content of your website (such as images, video files, static content, etc.) is placed on different servers and sent to your users through closer servers. This action is used to increase the reliability and performance of the website.
This way, whenever one of your servers crashes due to technical problems or high traffic, the user is automatically redirected to the next server, increasing the website’s reliability and performance. In this case, if one of your servers goes down, the other servers will continue to work automatically, and users won’t have to wait for web pages to load.
In general, using CDN is considered a solution to increase the reliability and performance of the website. By having different servers worldwide, CDN helps in load distribution and content optimization, improving the performance of your website and reducing problems like server errors and slow loading of web pages.

4- Improving ranking in search engines

Using a CDN improves the loading speed of web pages. Therefore, it can help improve your website’s search engine rankings. In fact, the loading speed of web pages is one of the important factors that help to rank a website in search engines.
Search engines like Google use many factors to rank websites. One of these factors is the loading speed of web pages. Search engines rank websites with fast page load times higher in search results.
In content distribution networks, the loading time of web pages is significantly reduced, improving your website’s ranking in search engines. Also, by improving your website ranking in search engines, your website is more likely to be seen by users, which increases your website traffic.
Therefore, using content distribution networks to improve your website’s ranking in search engines is very useful. By improving the loading speed of web pages, the chances of your website being seen in search results increase, which increases your website traffic.

5- Reducing bandwidth costs

Using a CDN reduces bandwidth costs for delivering website content, as content is served to users from servers located in different parts of the world, and traffic is reduced to a central server.
Content distribution networks can help reduce bandwidth costs by reducing traffic to the main website server. In fact, using content distribution networks transfers a portion of your website traffic to CDN servers, reducing bandwidth costs.
Bandwidth charges are fees paid to transfer data between servers and users. On high-traffic websites, bandwidth costs can add up dramatically. Using a CDN transfers a portion of your website traffic to CDN servers, reducing bandwidth costs.
Also, by reducing bandwidth costs, server costs can be reduced, and more capacity to host website traffic.
Therefore, using a CDN to reduce bandwidth costs is very useful. By reducing traffic to the main website server, bandwidth costs are reduced, and we have more capacity to host website traffic.

CDN Service Fee

CDN companies do not offer their services for free. Rather, these companies charge fees for maintaining servers worldwide, the bandwidth required for data transfer, security and data protection, and other related services to provide CDN services to companies and Internet sites.

CDN companies use different business models to provide services to companies and websites. Some of these companies use a pay-as-you-go model, meaning that fees are calculated based on the volume of data that passes through the CDN network. These costs may be around $1 per 1000 GB of data. Others use a contract-based model, in which companies or websites contract with the CDN company about the costs of using CDN services. In these contractual models, fees are usually calculated based on the number of impressions or site traffic. In this model, costs may be approximately $5 per 1,000 impressions.

However, the costs of using the services of content distribution networks for large sites with high traffic may be much higher than these values. In some cases, CDN companies also offer additional features and services that may incur additional costs.

Finally, to get a more accurate idea of how much it will cost you to use content distribution network services, it’s best to contact different CDN companies and talk to them about your needs and business plans.

Comparison with Similar Systems

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a distributed server system that works together to deliver web content to users based on their geographic location. While other systems perform similar functions, CDN has many unique features and benefits that set it apart from other content delivery systems.

Here are some comparisons between CDN and similar systems:

1. Traditional Web Hosting Vs. CDN

Traditional web hosting involves storing website files on a single server. When a user requests a file, the server sends it directly to the user. In contrast, CDN distributes website files across multiple servers in different locations. When a user requests a file, the CDN identifies the server closest to the user and delivers the file from that server. This results in faster page load times and improved performance.

2. Cloud Storage Vs. CDN

Cloud storage is a system for storing and accessing data over the internet. While it can store website files, it doesn’t have the same performance benefits as a CDN. Cloud storage systems typically don’t have the same level of geographic distribution as CDNs. This can result in slower page load times for users far from the data center where the files are stored.

3. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networks Vs. CDN

P2P networks allow users to share files directly with each other rather than relying on centralized servers. While P2P networks can effectively share large files, they don’t have the same performance benefits as CDNs for delivering web content. P2P networks can be slower and less reliable than CDNs, particularly for websites with many users.

4. Edge Computing Vs. CDN

Edge computing is a system for processing data closer to the source of the data rather than sending it to centralized servers for processing. While edge computing can improve performance for some applications, it doesn’t have the same benefits as CDNs for delivering web content. Edge computing is typically used to process data from IoT devices or other real-time data sources rather than deliver static web content.

In summary, while other systems perform similar functions to CDNs, CDN has several unique features and benefits that make it an ideal choice for delivering web content quickly and reliably to users worldwide.