Content Delivery Network
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Same thing as a CDN — a worldwide network of servers that deliver your content from the closest location to each user. It's the reason why Netflix loads instantly in every country even though their servers aren't everywhere — they cache popular content in data centers near you.
Real Talk
A Content Delivery Network distributes cached copies of web content across geographically dispersed nodes called Points of Presence (PoPs). It dramatically reduces Time to First Byte (TTFB) and bandwidth costs. Modern CDNs add edge computing capabilities, real-time analytics, and security features like WAF and DDoS mitigation.
When You'll Hear This
"A content delivery network is essential for global audiences." / "Without a content delivery network, international users get sluggish load times."
Related Terms
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is how wide your internet pipe is — how much data can flow through per second. A narrow pipe means slow speeds, a wide pipe means fast speeds.
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
A CDN is a network of servers spread around the world that store copies of your files.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare is like a superhero shield in front of your website.
CloudFront
CloudFront is AWS's CDN — it copies your files to data centers all over the world so users get content from a server near them instead of one far away.
Edge Computing
Your server is in Virginia. Your user is in Tokyo. Every request travels 10,000 km and back.
Latency
Latency is the delay before data starts moving — the time it takes for a request to go from your device to the server and back.