Word of the Day: CDN (content delivery network)

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms |May 22, 2018

CDN (content delivery network) A CDN (content delivery network), also called a content distribution network, is a group of geographically distributed and interconnected servers that provide cached internet content from a network location closest to a user to accelerate its delivery. The primary goal of a CDN is to improve web performance by reducing the time needed to transmit content and rich media to users' internet-connected devices. Content delivery network architecture is also designed to reduce network latency, which is often caused by hauling traffic over long distances and across multiple networks. Eliminating latency has become increasingly important, as more dynamic content, video and software as a service are delivered to a growing number of mobile devices. CDN providers house cached content in either their own network points of presence (POP) or in third-party data centers. When a user requests content from a website, if that content is cached on a content delivery network, the CDN redirects the request to the server nearest to that user and delivers the cached content from its location at the network edge. This process is generally invisible to the user. A wide variety of organizations and enterprises use CDNs to cache their website content to meet their businesses' performance and security needs. The need for CDN services is growing, as websites offer more streaming video, e-commerce applications and cloud-based applications where high performance is key. Few CDNs have POPs in every country, which means many organizations use multiple CDN providers to make sure they can meet the needs of their business or consumer customers wherever they are located. In addition to content caching and web delivery, CDN providers are capitalizing on their presence at the network edge by offering services that complement their core functionalities. These include security services that encompass distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection, web application firewalls (WAFs) and bot mitigation; web and application performance and acceleration services; streaming video and broadcast media optimization; and even digital rights management for video. Some CDN providers also make their APIs available to developers who want to customize the CDN platform to meet their business needs, particularly as webpages become more dynamic and complex. Read more... Quote of the Day "It's doubtful streaming video would be practical today without CDNs, and the same is likely true for future applications, especially IoT, that require quick analysis and response to events." - Tom Nolle   Trending Terms point-of-presence load balancing solid-state drive dynamic and static over-the-top content delivery   Learning Center What is CDN technology, and who are the current CDN providers? This tutorial on content delivery networks looks at the advantages of CDN technology for the enterprise and the growing number of services offered by CDN providers. New CDN services give providers an edge in WAN marketplace The CDN services market is expected to experience high growth in the next five years, as enterprises move more workloads in the public cloud, where new CDN optimization and security services will target web performance and security at the network edge. Future internet infrastructure to utilize fiber, edge hosting, CDNs In the future internet infrastructure, fiber deployment, edge hosting and CDNs could have a radically different mix. Growing CDN services market changes to meet cloud needs Enterprise cloud and application development are driving demands for expanded CDN services, including security and access to APIs, to help push network performance and scalability. CDN providers comparison: Highlighting vendors' focus Content delivery networks used to just be for accelerating website performance, but now, CDN providers are offering more services as competition heats up. This CDN providers comparison highlights what you need to know. Writing for Business The survey results taught us that one in three network administrators ____ interested in learning more about software-defined networking. A. was B. were Answer     Stay In Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com   Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!   FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2018 TechTarget. All rights reserved.