How to use a Content Delivery Network in the cloud

· Category: Cloud Computing

Short answer

A CDN caches content at geographically distributed edge locations to serve users from the nearest point of presence.

Steps

  1. Choose a CDN (CloudFront, Azure CDN, Cloud CDN, Fastly).
  2. Create a distribution pointing to your origin (S3, ALB, web server).
  3. Configure cache behaviors and TTLs.
  4. Set up SSL/TLS for custom domains.
  5. Invalidate caches when content updates.

Tips

  • Cache static assets aggressively (images, CSS, JS).
  • Use signed URLs or cookies for private content.
  • Enable compression (Brotli or Gzip) at the edge.

Common issues

  • Cache staleness: use versioned filenames or short TTLs for dynamic content.
  • Origin overload: configure origin shield or shielding if available.