The Architecture Behind Content Delivery Networks

Every now and again, we like to talk about the infrastructure that makes a content delivery network so effective. Even if you’re more concerned with the cost and benefits of the service, you might want to read about what’s going on behind the scenes.

Content delivery networks are constantly processing several applications. They use multiple servers to support websites and content streaming. CDNs are made up of several components which all integrate throughout the entire process.

The functionality of a CDN can be described as;

“A CDN can bring together the functionality of file-access, caching, multimedia delivery and application processing — while using the advanced policies of the routing and switching infrastructure to ensure survivability and guaranteed delivery. A CDN may have the ability to deliver this functionality, but the individual CDN components are key to making it possible.”

So what exactly does all of this mean for you and your business? It means that you can rely on a CDN for better performance whether you’re streaming content or hosting your website.

CDNs offer a level of support that cannot be achieved by businesses. This all goes back to the architecture. You can’t possibly invest as much in servers as a CDN does, but you can always use their servers as a part of the service.

Another service provided by CDNs is caching. As more and more content gets streamed, there’s a need to cache the content. End users don’t have to worry about this, as it’s taken care of by the CDN.

And finally, CDNs provide a monitoring service to make sure everything goes OK. At Medianova, we use PRTG to monitor our cloud platform with 5000 active sensors. With active monitoring, a CDN will detect a problem the second it occurs. It then gets fixed before you even notice a difference in functionality.

To talk more about our content delivery network, or anything else, please contact us.