Key Questions about Effectiveness of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

CDN or Content Delivery Network boosts availability and distribution of content by placing networks of servers at strategic locations in accordance with target audience. CDN is aimed at enhancing browsing experience by accelerating speed of content delivery and reducing loading times for assured availability. In order to improve overall understanding of Content Delivery Networks, following set of common questions and their relevant answers need to be referred to.

What is the basic objective of CDN?

Content Delivery Network is aimed at rapid delivery of web applications as well as website pages to visitors across any global location. Time required by web content to reach end user determines load times and ultimate user experience. Content Delivery Networks not only accelerate page load times but these are also beneficial for ensuring improved availability of websites or web applications even during server downtime or traffic spikes.

What is CDN’s role in resolving issues related to Web performance?

Content Delivery Network enables a closely integrated server network that is seamlessly tuned up for greater speed, scalability, and reliability. CDNs facilitate web entities overcome limitations of Internet to boost reliable delivery of web content. Adoption of Content Delivery Network helps site owners achieve remarkable load balancing detection and mitigation of security issues, in addition to dynamic scalability for handling surges in traffic loads.

In what way CDN is better than having data centers at multiple locations

Basically, CDN is a more practical and viable option than having data centers at multiple sites. One can only imagine the huge expenditure that would be required to manage globally dispersed data centers and the associated resource that would be required to be managed for supporting such an arrangement. It will require massive investment in terms of fixed and variable costs apart from months or even years to setup distributed data center facilities that are fully functional.

On the contrary, Content Delivery Networks can be instantly deployed without need to put in huge investments and can start functioning in a very short time offering positive and demonstrable results.

How can a CDN accelerate delivery of dynamic applications or content?

Normally CDNs are designed only to cache or duplicate content and disperse across the network for instant delivery. It is obvious that caching of dynamic content such as live streaming applications, online games, online trading, and interactive applications, is not feasible and therefore it needs to be dispersed from origin server only.

It is however possible to provide dynamic acceleration by using tier-one CDN, that needs configuring for streamlining of data requests and ensuring faster delivery between user and origin server. Dynamic acceleration is capable of bypassing standard internet nodes while delivering data from origin server to end users by accessing a more efficient and direct path. This can considerably minimize load times for improved user experience.

Explain role of CDN for video streaming

Content Delivery Networks are often used for acceleration of delivery of media flies for a distinctly secure and dependable distribution. CDNs provide a lag free viewing experience of media files or videos. Moreover, with help of CDN, one can ensure outstanding availability of digital assets in spite of traffic spikes.

How a CDN can boost online presence across global markets?

It is possible to expand online presence of business website across multiple global regions with help specific CDN solutions. However, it should be noted that it is not possible to use all types of CDNs for this purpose. Ability of expanding web footprint depends on type of markets and regions that need to be focused and the expected volume of traffic that is to be received from the locations.

Ideally, one should avoid smaller CDN services that may not be capable of delivering content beyond home region. The most reliable way to penetrate into globally dispersed markets is by leveraging large global CDN services that are capable of offering cost effective means of covering large area.

Elucidate role of CDNs to boost mobile acceleration

In order to exploit large and growing base of mobile users, one can use Mobile CDNs to support huge increase in mobile data traffic with Radio Access Network acceleration. The process involves following steps:

• Text compression by reduction of mobile data traffic by retaining content integrity
• Use of video pacing to mitigate excessive progressive downloading of video content
• Leveraging TCP acceleration tuned to be compatible with network environment of user network

How CDN can enhance security of site or network?

CDN service providers execute continuous testing, monitoring and improvement of their networks and infrastructure in order to comply with security requirements and regulations including PDI standards or HIPAA regulations. In addition to DDoS protection, compliance with these regulations is also useful for protection of critical information.

How quickly and cost effectively can CDN be implemented?

It entirely depends on site’s or application’s needs. However, CDN can be easily implemented as a general rule. These solutions can be preconfigured or even customized for exclusive delivery requirements. CDN can be designed to be cost effective by optimizing performance, bandwidth, security, network size, and other integrated features.

Can CDN solution be used to enhance revenues?

Site abandonment in response to slow loading pages or slower download speeds is detrimental to online business leading to lost customers, slower conversions, and lower revenues. By accelerating page loading and download speeds, CDNs can improve conversions and revenue. CDN solutions also improve security of online transaction to minimize data loss.

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