CDNs 101: Reducing Latency by Moving to the Edge

If your server is in New York, a user in Tokyo will experience slow load times due to the physical distance. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) solve this by mirroring your site across the globe.

Pop (Point of Presence)

A CDN consists of hundreds of data centers called PoPs. Each PoP contains edge servers that store a cached copy of your static content (HTML, images, JS).

Anycast Routing

CDNs use Anycast (which we covered in a previous post) to ensure that when a user in Tokyo types your URL, they are automatically routed to the Tokyo PoP, reducing their latency to milliseconds.

Beyond Caching

Modern CDNs like Cloudflare and Akamai also provide security features like DDoS Protection and Web Application Firewalls (WAF), making your site both fast and secure.