Content Delivery Networks (CDN) have been an inherent part of modern software infrastructure for years. They allow for faster and more reliable web-content delivery to users regardless of their location and an additional level of protection against DDoS Attacks and server failure. But just like any infrastructure service, they still fail from time to time and have their quirks. Enter CDN monitoring tools, providing insights on the performance of your CDN and helping troubleshoot issues.

Websites have become larger and more complex over the past few years, and users expect them to load instantaneously, even on mobile devices. The smallest performance drops can have big effects; just a 100ms decrease in page load time can drop conversions by 7%. With competitors just a click away, organizations wishing to attract and retain customers need to make web performance a priority. One relatively simple method of doing this is by using content delivery networks (CDNs).

what-is-a-cdn A content delivery network (CDN) is a distributed network of servers strategically positioned across the globe to enhance the delivery speed and performance of web content to users. The primary purpose of a CDN is to reduce latency and improve the user experience by bringing content closer to the end users. Imagine you are the owner of a popular e-commerce website that sells an extensive range of products to customers worldwide.

The Content Delivery Network (CDN) market is projected to grow from 17.70 billion USD to 81.86 billion USD by 2026, according to a recent study. As more businesses adopt CDNs for their content distribution, CDN log tracking is becoming essential to achieve full-stack observability. That being said, the widespread distribution of the CDN servers can also make it challenging when you want visibility into your visitors’ behavior, optimize performance, and identify distribution issues.

By storing copies of your content in geographically distributed servers, content delivery networks (CDNs) enable you to extend the reach of your app without sacrificing performance. CDNs lessen the demand on individual web hosts by increasing the number and regional spread of servers that are able to respond to incoming requests for cached content. As a result, they can deliver web content faster and provide a better experience for your end users.

Live sports have moved to the internet and are now streaming instead of being broadcast. Traditional streaming protocols have a built-in delay that challenges the experience of a live game. Amazon Prime has found a solution by combining a new protocol with a very distributed CDN.

Rich content like videos and graphics used to cause network congestion and long load times when all the content was stored on a centrally located server. Fortunately, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) came to the rescue in the late 1990s, letting users load rich content from a location geographically closer to them and reducing load times by distributing a cached version of content across servers worldwide.