Content Delivery Network (CDN) - A Deep Dive

#159: A clear introduction to CDNs and their core concepts

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How does Netflix stream videos worldwide in milliseconds,,, while some sites take “seconds” to load a basic HTML page?

The answer is proximity…

i.e., closeness between the servers and end-users.

Imagine a single server to handle global traffic:

• International users wait 300ms+ just for the first byte from the “distant” server

• Origin server¹ handles all requests from every continent

• One traffic spike could take down the entire site

Onward.

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Here’s what you’ll find inside this newsletter:

• Why websites slow down. The hidden costs of distance, overloaded servers, and bandwidth limits.

• Why CDNs became essential. How they evolved from a niche scaling solution into core internet infrastructure.

• What happens when you visit a site. The journey your request takes before content reaches your browser.

• The building blocks of a CDN. Edge servers, origin servers, DNS, Anycast, GSLB, and the components behind global content delivery.

• Where CDNs make the massive impact. The industries and applications that depend on them every day.

• Why CDNs aren’t a silver bullet. The trade-offs, limitations, and operational challenges every engineer should understand.