<strong>CDN (Content Delivery Network)</strong> is a network of servers distributed globally that cache and deliver your website's content from locations closest to your users, dramatically improving load times and reducing server load.
The Pizza Chain Analogy
Instead of ordering from the main kitchen across town (slow), you order from the nearest branch (fast). CDNs work the same way—serving content from the closest server to you.
Your House (User)
Wants pizza
Local Branch (CDN)
Nearby location
Main Kitchen (Origin Server)
Central location
Needs Content
Serves Cached Content
Fallback if Not Cached
User requests content
Browser requests image/video/file from your site
DNS routes to nearest CDN
Automatically finds the closest CDN server
CDN checks cache
If content is cached, serve it immediately
Fetch from origin if needed
If not cached, get from origin server and cache it
Deliver to user
Content served in milliseconds instead of seconds
Wrong
"CDN is only for huge websites" or "CDN is just for images"
Correct
<strong>Any website benefits from CDN</strong>. It improves speed for all static content (HTML, CSS, JS, images, videos), reduces bandwidth costs, and provides DDoS protection.
Netflix using CDN:
Netflix has CDN servers in 1000+ locations worldwide
When you watch a show, it streams from a server near you
Without CDN: 2000ms latency from US to Australia
With CDN: 20ms latency from local server—100x faster!