CDNs, or content delivery networks, are a crucial component of every online company plan. Nowadays, the majority of consumer data is available online. The end consumer searches for speed while using the internet, whether it's for a straightforward Google search or to stream a film from Netflix or YouTube.

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Suppose that even if your mobile device has a fast internet connection, the live video buffer on Amazon Prime or Netflix is too sluggish. What then guarantees that the user may view material from a game, app, or website at lightning-fast speed?

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One may say, a CDN. Not entirely, but it certainly contributes significantly to making sure the information is supplied as soon as feasible.

What is CDN?

A content delivery network, or CDN, is a system of dispersed networks or servers that sends web pages, photos, videos, and other material to users based on their location, the content delivery server, and the hosting server. 

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This indicates that the user's location, the location of the hosting server or the website, and the content delivery server's location are the three main variables involved when a content delivery network (CDN) works.

CDN Explained

Whenever a user queries a webpage via the internet, the CDN starts working. It routes the request to the delivery server nearest to the user from the server of the original site.  Cache pictures and other site material are stored by the CDN. In order to transfer any additional stuff that wasn't previously cached, it makes contact with the original server.

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In this case, the user's request will be handled by the server that is nearest to them. For example, when a user from America tries to visit a website hosted in India, the request is routed through a local CDN server located in America rather than the server of the original website.

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An average internet user expects a page to load in two seconds or less, according to findings from an Akamai survey, and they will leave a website after three seconds instead of waiting longer. The difficult issue of latency is resolved by CDNs, which essentially reduce the distance that exists between users and hosting servers. 

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Even if there are many CDN providers available, it might be challenging for a newcomer to select the best match.

Key Features of Best CDN Providers

Comparisons: Google CDN Vs Amazon Cloud Front Vs IBM Cloud CDN Vs Alibaba Cloud CDN Vs Azure CDN

Alibaba Cloud CDN

Alibaba Cloud's CDN services include a distributed network that is built on top of the transport network. Additionally, it has edge node clusters dispersed throughout various locations. Reducing network congestion is achieved by offloading traffic from origin servers.

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Alibaba Cloud CDN guarantees faster video delivery with a cache hit percentage above 95%. Numerous use cases, including tiny graphics, on-demand video,  live video and audio streaming, huge file downloads, and more, can benefit from its ability to speed up content delivery. It provides a safe network for delivering material that may be tailored to meet specific business needs.

Features:

• Offers a graphical summary of the characteristics for easier handling.
• Users may configure CDN with EdgeScript.
• More than 28,000 worldwide nodes are available, and 120 EBytes of data are distributed annually.
• In order to stop data theft, alteration, or leaking, it offers HTTPs-secured acceleration.
• Every CDN node is configured with SSDs. This facilitates quicker reaction times and more availability.
• It allows for the effective use and management of memory by supporting load balancing across numerous virtual CPUs.
• Furthermore, for enhanced security and management, it offers a sophisticated anti-leech feature.
• Use cases such as live streaming, mobile accelerator, on-demand streaming, download acceleration, and website acceleration are supported.
• For cost-effectiveness, pay-as-you-go billing is supported.
• In order to further secure resources, it also provides Secure CDN (SCDN) in addition to the CDN solution.
• It enables users to alter settings using EdgeScript (ES).

Amazon Cloud Front

Fast content delivery networks like Amazon CloudFront are well-known for securely delivering files, movies, APIs, and apps to users at high transfer rates and minimal latency. Because CloudFront offers a developer-friendly environment, users may tailor its functionality to suit their own needs.

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It serves as the entry point for any user application, thwarting assaults before they have a chance to reach the origin server. Application security is further ensured via HTTPS and SSL/TLS encryption. Because CloudFront provides access restrictions, the user has the ability to manage who may visit the website.

Key Features:

• Because CloudFront and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are completely linked, CloudFront may operate with AWS's services, including Lambda@Edge, Amazon EC2, AWS Shield for DDoS mitigation, Amazon S3, and Elastic Load Balancing.
• With a private committed price system and pay-as-you-go pricing that requires no up-front costs, users only have to pay for what they use.
• Operates on AWS's worldwide network, which has over 410 PoPs (points of presence) and is equipped with sophisticated routing and automatic network mapping.
• Customizable price options, combined requests, and free data transfer out of AWS regions allow users to save money.
• For improved user speed, both static and dynamic material may be accessed thanks to TCP optimization.
• Cloudflare delivers the complete website simply using one domain name. This quickens the process of uploading and downloading your website's content.
• Uses layered caching and optimized de-duplication to reduce cache churn.
• Uses AWS Web Application Firewall, Amazon CloudFront, AWS Shield, and Amazon Route 53 to defend against denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on the network and application levels.

Azure CDN

With vast scalability and worldwide coverage, Microsoft Azure CDN provides safe and dependable content delivery. Users may start using it right away and grow it in a matter of minutes because of its close connectivity with Azure services. On a pay-as-you-go basis, Microsoft Azure CDN facilitates faster load times, lower bandwidth use, and increased performance for users.

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For managing streaming video games, websites or apps, other types of media, IoT endpoints, etc., this CDN is the perfect choice. Additionally, Azure Front Door, a cutting-edge cloud CDN solution from Microsoft, has excellent speed, scalability, and security features. It combines cognitive threat prevention with CDN technology in an easy-to-deploy and administer package.

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When it comes to CDN service, users may pick between Azure Front Door and Azure CDN. We have just discussed the characteristics of Azure CDN in this blog post comparing CDNs. You may go here for additional information about Azure Front Door.

Key Features:

• Deeply connected with cloud, media, storage, and web app capabilities offered by Azure.
• The capacity to control sporadic traffic surges while maintaining a globally dispersed presence.
• Applications featuring API support may be quickly developed and deployed in an environment that is developer-friendly.
• The option to secure your content with HTTPS enabled for your domain names, without the need for extra money or certificate maintenance.
• Integrates easily with Akamai and Verizon to create and modify content delivery strategies using a variety of providers.
• Real-time, fine-grained advanced analytics can provide insightful information.
• Microsoft's Azure CDN features 118 POPs spread across 100 major locations.

Google Cloud CDN

Google Cloud CDN uses Google's globally dispersed edge points to accelerate the delivery of content to user websites and apps. It handles the requests that come in from Cloud Storage and Compute Engine on Google. Once HTTP(S) Load Balancing is correctly configured, users may enable Cloud CDN, and they can do it with only one checkbox.

Since Google Cloud CDN provides a single Internet Protocol (IP) address that can be used anywhere, sites using it do not need regional DNS. Regarding security, Google Cloud CDN uses SSL/TLS to protect site material without charging extra. Google Cloud CDN is fully integrated into Google Cloud Platform, in contrast to Amazon CloudFront.

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It is a great option for controlling gaming traffic and media because it can accommodate items up to 5TB in size.

Key Features:

• The Anycast functionality reduces latency and allows users to handle all material through a single IP address.
• It is compatible with HTTP/1.1, HTTP/1.0, and HTTP/2, the most recent and efficient version of the HTTP protocol.
• By utilizing a domain name of their own, users may safeguard the content of their websites with their own TLS or SSL certificate.
• In less than a minute, the user can remove the cached photos and other data by using the invalidation function.
• With the integration of Stackdriver logging, the user may obtain comprehensive details on every cache.
• Any content coming from Compute Engine virtual machines and Cloud Storage buckets is served by it.
• Charges are dependent on many situations, including HTTP/HTTPS requests, cache fill bandwidth, and cache egress bandwidth.

IBM CDN

Numerous industry solutions, including media, software, entertainment, finance, e-commerce, gaming, and many more, find use for IBM CDN. With Edge servers spread throughout more than 36 nations, its goal is to distribute information quickly and affordably.

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There are over 1,700 networks across 136 nations where Akamai is present. Conversely, IBM boasts a worldwide cloud footprint spanning over 60 data centers across 19 countries. They can now provide content blazingly quickly.

Features:

• It is simple to set up IBM Cloud CDN to deliver content from both the object storage endpoint and the host server origin.
• Different origin servers with distinct pathways can be set up by users.
• Erase or erase the stuff that is cached quickly.
• Set the TTL (time to live) time, which indicates how long the edge server may store material for a given directory path (measured in seconds).
• Metrics with graphical perspectives are available.
• Excellent streaming over many network types combined with performance optimization for video-on-demand.
• Geographical Access Control allows you to restrict material access depending on a user's location.

Conclusion

A CDN is a must for websites that receive traffic from multiple sources. You must do a complete analysis before finalizing a content distribution network. We hope that you find our detailed CDN comparison informative and make the best decision as per your requirements.