A content delivery network is a group of geographically distributed servers that speed up the delivery of web content by bringing it closer to where users are. The primary objective of a content delivery network is to provide high availability and performance by delivering service to the end-users. This means that instead of having one server in one geographical area, multiple servers can be physically present at different sites, each linked to the others through a high-speed internet connection. These servers work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content.
A large number of users can thus access the network at the same time without delays. Moreover, a content delivery network allows the quick transfer of assets needed to load Internet content, including videos, images, HTML pages, and JavaScript. The content delivery network aims to deliver content at high speed to the users in different geographical locations. The network also allows multiple servers to deliver electronic media, such as audio and video over the Internet. It receives data from different Internet websites, processes it, stores it, and sends it back to other machines on the same network to allow end-users to receive it.
This ensures that the service provider can serve millions of consumers at the same time without compromising on quality. It also helps in reducing operational costs and improving efficiency. In order to function effectively, a content delivery network must have multiple data centers in which to store all the incoming traffic. This is done so that multiple users on the same network can receive and process the data simultaneously. With an increase in usage of the internet and smart devices, an enormous amount of data is being generated on a daily basis, which needs to be managed smartly. Thus, there is an increasing demand for the content delivery networks.
For example, in September 2020, Unity announced the launch of its Cloud Content Delivery service. It is a managed, convenient, and cost-effective live game service option that enables developers to get the right content to the right users, at the right time.