What is CDN? Here are four reasons why you should use CDN services!
In today's internet-driven world, fast, stable, and secure online experiences are the expectations of every user. The speed of internet usage is a critical factor, especially for industries like streaming platforms, gaming, finance, and corporate websites that need to reach a global audience. To achieve better and faster content delivery, CDN services emerge as an ideal solution. CDN helps websites achieve high-speed, stable, and secure content delivery. But what exactly is CDN, and what does its service encompass? In the following explanation, we will discuss the purposes and pros and cons of CDN, providing you with a quick understanding.
What is CDN?
CDN stands for Content Delivery Network. It is a network composed of one or multiple servers distributed globally. Its primary function is to provide efficient content delivery and enhance the speed and availability of websites.
When a user accesses a website, CDN automatically selects the server closest to the user to deliver the content. This improves website speed and efficiency. Additionally, a properly configured CDN can assist in defending against DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, helping to prevent disruptions to the network system.
Let's take an example to illustrate the benefits of CDN. Suppose there is a website called ABC with a server located in the United States, and it contains a 1MB image. When a user from Taiwan visits the ABC website, the image would take a longer time to load due to the distance between the user and the server.
However, if ABC utilizes CDN services, the image would be replicated and stored on CDN servers located worldwide, including Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and other locations. When a visitor from Taiwan accesses the ABC website, their request would be directed to the nearest CDN node, such as the CDN server in Taiwan. As a result, the image would load quickly from the server in Taiwan, significantly improving the website's speed and stability for users in Taiwan.
CDN Service
CDN services are built on a distributed system. CDN providers deploy a large number of servers globally and establish an extensive network. These servers are typically located in major cities and internet exchange points around the world to ensure fast and efficient content delivery to users' devices.
One crucial aspect of CDN services is their ability to mitigate the impact of network congestion on website performance. By distributing the traffic load across different servers, CDN services can alleviate network congestion and improve the speed of content delivery, enhancing the overall user experience.
Here are the four main reasons why you should use CDN!
1. Improved website loading speed:
CDN distributes website content to global nodes. When users access the website from different locations, they can retrieve data from the nearest node, reducing data transmission time and improving website loading speed. For example, when a company based in Taiwan wants to enter the Chinese market, using CDN allows their website content to be uploaded to local nodes in China. When a user from France accesses the website, they can directly retrieve data from the China node, reducing the time taken to transmit data from Taiwan.
2. Reduced server load:
When users access content on a website, the server bears the burden of handling the requests, especially during high traffic periods, which can potentially lead to server crashes. However, using CDN services allows the distribution of website content to global nodes, enabling different nodes to handle different requests, thereby reducing the load on the server. For example, when a Taiwanese company launches a new product in the Chinese market, the website may experience high traffic that could impact its stability. By using CDN, a portion of the traffic can be redirected to CDN nodes, alleviating the server's load and improving the website's stability and reliability.
3. Enhanced user experience:
Using CDN can greatly improve user experience by storing static resources (such as images, CSS, and JavaScript files) on nodes that are closer to the users. This reduces network latency and enables faster content delivery to users, effectively reducing website loading times and enhancing the overall user experience. For example, if a Taiwanese company wants to enter the Chinese market, using CDN ensures that users from France can access their website faster, resulting in an improved user experience and potentially higher conversion rates.
4. Enhanced website security:
Using CDN can improve website security. When users access a website, there is a risk of malicious attacks such as DDoS attacks or SQL injections. CDN can provide additional security measures as most CDN services offer DDoS attack protection, SSL encryption, and other security features. For example, if a Taiwanese company wants to enter the Chinese market, using CDN services can help provide a more secure environment. China has a vast territory with varying network connectivity, and using CDN services can offer protection against DDoS attacks, providing the company with peace of mind and enabling them to expand their business with greater confidence.
The scope of CDN services includes the following aspects:
1. Acceleration of static content: Advertising industry, auction websites.
CDN is a website acceleration service that primarily focuses on optimizing the delivery of static content. Static content refers to content that does not change based on user interactions, such as images, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, etc. These static contents are stored in global nodes, and when users access the website, they can request the static content from the nearest and optimal node, significantly improving website loading speed.
2. Acceleration of dynamic content: Esports industry, gambling games.
CDN can cache dynamic content in nodes, reducing the load on backend servers and improving the execution efficiency of the website. Additionally, CDN can also optimize the delivery of dynamic content.
3.Stability for demanding websites: Web-based games, e-commerce websites.
Stability is a critical factor in website operation. CDN can help improve website stability by providing protection against attacks and other issues using techniques like firewalls and load balancing.
How to choose the right CDN provider? Here are 4 essential points you need to know!
1. Availability of Web Application Firewall (WAF):
When choosing a CDN provider, it is highly recommended to prioritize providers that offer WAF functionality. A WAF helps protect websites from various web-based attacks, such as SQL injections and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. Selecting a CDN provider with WAF capabilities enhances website security and reduces vulnerabilities and risks in your applications.
2. Mitigation of Maximum Traffic Capacity:
Mitigating traffic is another crucial consideration. A good CDN provider with a global network of nodes can handle and distribute the load, improving website availability and reliability. Having appropriate website capacity and performance ensures smooth operations and provides a better user experience.
3. Use of Dedicated Node Resources:
The use of dedicated nodes is also an important factor to consider. If a provider offers dedicated nodes, it avoids sharing resources with other websites, which can lead to performance bottlenecks or security risks. Dedicated nodes can enhance website stability and efficiency. Therefore, choosing a CDN provider with dedicated node resources is a wise decision.
4. Specialization in Specific Regions and Alignment with Your Target Market:
Different CDN providers may have their own strengths in specific regions. For example, some providers may excel in serving the Asian market, while others may perform better in Europe. Hence, when choosing a CDN provider, it is important to prioritize those that have strong performance in your target regions. Additionally, consider whether the provider has specific success stories or client recommendations to assess service quality and reliability.
The characteristics and advantages of Microud are as follows:
Microud is an artificial intelligence company based on cloud technology. Its key features include high customizability and user-friendliness. The Microud platform is equipped with automated deployment, scalability, and management features, enabling businesses to quickly build and operate service architectures.
Advantage 1: Efficiency and Reliability
Microud leverages enterprise-level end-to-end data transmission and HTTPS encryption algorithms to provide fast, efficient, and secure intellectual property solutions. It can process large volumes of data in a short period and deliver accurate and comprehensive information to customers.
Advantage 2: User-Friendliness
Microud offers a concise and user-friendly intelligent management interface, enabling users to easily create, deploy, and manage their solutions. It also provides comprehensive documentation and technical support to help users better understand and utilize the platform.
Advantage 3: Automation Features
The Microud platform incorporates automation capabilities such as automated deployment, scalability, and management. Its unique flexible cache management can automatically refresh cached content and accelerate CDN hotspots, thereby improving website efficiency.
Conclusion
Through the introduction and explanation in the above article, we have gained a better understanding of CDN services. With the rapid advancement of internet technology, global business opportunities are ubiquitous. Particularly in the vast Chinese market, selecting a stable and efficient CDN service is crucial for companies looking to enter this market and ensure smooth website performance. Among the various options available, we recommend the CDN service provided by Chiheng International. Their service offers global node coverage, high-speed transmission, and stability, effectively enhancing website speed and reliability, making your business more competitive in the Chinese market. For more information or any inquiries, please feel free to contact us!