What Is a CDN and How Does It Work?

In the modern digital landscape, speed and accessibility are crucial to a successful online presence. The faster your website loads, the better the user experience and the higher the chances of retaining visitors — this is where a CDN comes into play. This post will explore what a CDN is and how it works.

What Is a CDN?

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) distributes a network of servers across various geographic locations. The primary function is to store and deliver website content, such as images, videos, scripts, and other media files. Web content is cached on multiple servers, and visitors are automatically routed to the server nearest to their location. It reduces latency, boosts website load times, and reduces server load.

How Does a CDN Work?

It distributes website content across multiple servers, making it available to visitors from various locations. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

• When a user visits a website, their browser sends a request to the server hosting the website.
• The server responds with the requested content, such as HTML, images, videos, and other media files.
• The content is stored on multiple servers across various geographic locations if the website uses a CDN.
• The server closest to the user’s location receives the request and delivers the content.
• The content is delivered to the user’s browser, and the website loads faster.

CDNs use caching to reduce the number of requests sent to the origin server. When a user requests content from a website, the CDN caches the content on its server. The next time a user requests the same content, the CDN delivers it from the cache, reducing the number of requests sent to the origin server. This results in faster website load times and reduced server load.

Benefits of Using a CDN

A Content Delivery Network offers several benefits, including:

• Faster website load times – Distributing website content across multiple servers reduces latency, resulting in faster website load times.
• Improved user experience – Fast website load times lead to enhanced user experience, increasing the chances of retaining visitors.
• Increased website availability – Distributing content across multiple servers ensures website availability even during high-traffic periods.
• Reduced server load – By caching content, CDN minimises the number of requests sent to the origin server, reducing server load and increasing server uptime.

The DreamIT Host CDN

DreamIT Host’s CDN plans range from $2.97*/month to $11.97*/month, depending on the bandwidth required. Your options vary from 30GB, 100GB and 300GB bandwidth. 100GB is great for eCommerce websites, and 300GB is ideal for websites with a global presence. All plans Integrate with CMS, have 55 Points of Presence, free setup, 30MS Global Latency and SSD Servers.

DreamIT Host’s 55 Points of Presence (PoPs)

With 55 PoPs, DreamIT Host’s CDN can store cached content closer to users worldwide, resulting in faster website load times, improved user experience, and increased website availability. The more PoPs a provider has, the more efficiently they can deliver website content to users from the server closest to their location, reducing latency and improving website performance. 

DreamIT Host’s PoPs are distributed throughout various regions globally, including Australia, Asia, Oceania, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Having 55 PoPs is a considerable advantage for DreamIT Host’s CDN, making it a viable option for businesses seeking fast and efficient content delivery to users worldwide.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a CDN is crucial to a successful online presence. Distributing website content across multiple servers reduces latency, speeds up website load times, and improves user experience. If you’re looking to improve your website’s speed and accessibility, using a CDN is an excellent place to start.

Click here to view DreamIT Host’s CDN Hosting plans.