Cloud CDN
What is the cloud?
The term "the cloud" is used to describe a network of servers which each have a specific task. These servers can be used for things such as storage or for running an application. The cloud is used by many on a daily basis for web-based tasks such as checking your email, uploading a document to Google Drive, etc. There are many benefits to using cloud services such as:
- Less costly to use services in the cloud compared to purchasing physical hardware/licenses
- Globally accessible to everyone with an internet connection
- Automated software updates
The cloud allows individuals and businesses alike to easily scale as their needs for a particular service increases. The Cloud has made software-based solutions much more accessible and cost-effective thus many enterprises have adopted a cloud-based infrastructure.
88 percent of enterprises are using public cloud while 63 percent are using private cloud.
Caching HTTP(S) content on a CDN
Taking advantage of the benefits of caching to deliver your HTTP or HTTPS CDN content allows you to deliver resources faster to visitors. Since CDN's have many servers strategically distributed across the globe, they are able to cast a broader net in terms of geographic location often times resulting in the CDN server being closer to the visitor than the origin server.
A cloud CDN is easily accessible as there are no special software or hardware requirements to use its services and accelerate content. Users simply create an account with the CDN provider and are able to access all of the available features directly through the dashboard. As mentioned in the section above, this allows services such as a CDN to be much more accessible thus allowing anyone from a small blogger to a large enterprise to quickly set up an account and begin delivering cached content.
Many cloud CDN's also have the ability to deliver content over a secured SSL connection from the CDN to your visitor. This security feature is a must-have for businesses such as ecommerce stores which deal with personal information such as credit cards. KeyCDN for instance allows customers to deliver all of their HTTPS CDN content through a free custom CDN URL with the use of Let's Encrypt integration.
Cloud CDN storage
Based on your needs, certain services also offer cloud-based storage to easier facilitate the sharing of documents with others, to improve redundancy, or in the case of a CDN, to speed up the delivery of certain content. Cloud CDN storage offers the ability to upload content to a CDN's storage servers which will then be distributed to their network of edge servers. This is an easy to use method of content delivery for assets such as videos, PDF documents, software distribution, etc. and can be achieved with KeyCDN through the use of a Push Zone. Having access to a CDN storage cloud also allows you reduce the load from your origin server as the CDN will now be delivering your stored assets.
The cloud offers many benefits to consumers and have made many - otherwise costly and infrastructure-heavy services - available to the masses. A cloud CDN is one of these services which has greatly improved in both efficiency and accessibility over time.