A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a geographically distributed network of servers that delivers web content to users based on their geographic location, the origin of the web page, and the content delivery server. It helps to improve website performance and reduce latency by distributing content closer to the end-users.
CDNs cache static content, such as images, videos, CSS files, and JavaScript files, across multiple servers located in different locations around the world. When a user requests a web page, the CDN selects the server closest to the user's location to deliver the content, resulting in faster load times and better user experience.
In addition to caching, CDNs can also provide other optimizations such as load balancing, DDoS protection, and SSL/TLS termination. By offloading the delivery of content to a CDN, websites can handle higher traffic loads and provide a more reliable service to users.
Overall, a CDN plays a crucial role in improving website performance, scalability, and reliability by ensuring that web content is delivered quickly and efficiently to users around the world.