

Once a stream is posted or goes live, it populates all over the world.

How Does a Video CDN Work?Īs described above, a CDN uses an extensive network of servers placed strategically around the globe to distribute video streams quickly. Similarly, CDNs streamline delivery by sending content from local servers rather than sending it directly from the distant origin server each time. The server will either have the media files cached or send a request to another server that does.Īmazon streamlines delivery by distributing goods from these local warehouses rather than shipping each item directly from their central hub. Likewise, when you attempt to stream a video from a CDN, the edge server closest to you tries to deliver it. That warehouse will either have the product available to send directly or request it from another distribution center. When you submit an order to Amazon, the distribution center closest to you attempts to fill it. Think of Amazon’s headquarters as an origin server and Amazon’s distribution centers as edge servers. How Does a CDN Work?Įver wondered how Amazon ships packages so quickly? A CDN works in the same way. As such, the load is spread across many cooperating servers. Instead of each viewer’s request to view a stream traversing the entire internet to one central location, the CDN server closest to them provides the content and processing power needed. These networks remove the bottleneck of traffic that could result from delivering content with a single server by distributing text, image, and video data to edge locations across the world.Īs a result, the edge servers share the burden with the origin server. How CDNs Are Evolving for Next-Gen StreamingĪs the name suggests, a CDN - short for both content distribution network and content delivery network - is a system of geographically distributed servers used to transport media files.What to Look for in a Live Streaming CDN.So what exactly is a CDN, and why are video CDNs critical to streaming? Read on to learn more. Beyond that, they solve for slow video startup times, stream interruptions, and that dreaded spinning wheel that we call buffering.

Made up of interconnected servers deployed across the world, they ensure speedy, high-quality access to all things online.įor viral content and geographically dispersed audiences, CDNs are an essential workhorse of any streaming workflow. Put simply, CDNs make up the webs in World Wide Web and the nets in internet. Cisco estimates that 72 percent of all internet traffic crosses a CDN - up from 56 percent in 2017.* Video streaming is skyrocketing, causing exponential growth in the content delivery network (CDN) market. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a
