sisällönjakelukeskus

Sisällönjakelukeskus, often abbreviated as CDN, is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their data centers. The primary purpose of a CDN is to provide high availability and performance by distributing the service spatially relative to end-users. CDNs serve content from edge servers that are closer to the user, reducing latency and improving load times for websites and applications.

When a user requests content, such as an image, video, or web page, the CDN directs the request to the server geographically closest to the user. This edge server then delivers the content. If the edge server does not have the content cached, it will retrieve it from the origin server, cache it, and then deliver it to the user. This process significantly speeds up content delivery compared to fetching it directly from the origin server, which might be located far away.

CDNs are crucial for modern internet infrastructure, supporting a vast majority of online content. They help mitigate traffic spikes and ensure that users worldwide experience fast and reliable access to digital resources. Beyond websites, CDNs are also used for delivering software updates, streaming media, and supporting online gaming. They offer benefits such as reduced bandwidth costs for content providers, improved website load times, and increased resilience against denial-of-service attacks.