Content Delivery Network (CDN) Vs. Cloud Services

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Content Delivery Network (CDN) Vs. Cloud Services
The digital universe of content is growing
tremendously and it is multiplying in a few
years. Consumers expect fast and secure data
access on any device from any part of the world.
Content providers need to find the solution to
the challenges of delivering streaming and
optimized content to computers, smartphones, and
tablets. Some of the common challenges, in this
case, are higher capability, higher scalability,
higher quality of service, and security. To
tackle those issues, two popular tools are
content delivery networks (CDN) and cloud
computing. What do they mean? How do they work?
and when they will be suitable for your needs?
This article aims to discuss the contrast between
CDN and cloud computing. What Is CDN? A CDN is a
distributed network of file storage devices and
servers. This network can replicate content or
services like files, audio, video, etc. on a
large number of surrogate systems located at
various geographical locations across the globe.
CDNs are extremely flexible and they improve the
scalability and quality of the services offered
on the web by reducing the latency of delivering
content to their clients. The CDNs do so
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by maximizing the bandwidth for accessing the
data from clients throughout the network by
strategically placing content replica(s) at
geographically distributed locations. In the
dynamic internet landscape of the present world,
it is more important than ever for content
providers to understand the demands and
requirements of the users. For example, consider
a video streaming service, such as YouTube, or
Netflix. During the delivery of video content to
subscribers located across various continents,
the video experience can vary depending on the
delivery path to the end-user. CDN solves this
issue. Related Do You Need A CDN Service For
Your WordPress Website? How Does CDN
Work? Depending upon the content type and
application, the CDNs can vary. However, most
CDNs comprise an origin server, a request
redirecting mechanism, and a large number of
surrogate cache servers namely Point of Presence
(POP). Origin Server The origin server is a
powerful storage system that contains all the
content. To obtain the best performance of CDN,
the content in the origin server is pushed to
surrogate servers located at various
geographical locations across the globe. POP
Servers These servers are located in large
numbers in diverse areas in a CDN. The POP server
offers the content to the end-user on request.
If the content is not available locally, the POP
server will pull it from the origin server and
store that for the next probable
requirement. Request Redirecting Mechanism One
of the main functions of CDN is to redirect
clients to the most optimal servers based on
Quality of Service (QoS) parameters like server
load, network congestion, latency, client access
networks, etc. A variety of methods like Global
Server Load Balancing (GSLB), DNS-based
request-routing, HTTP Redirection, and URL
Rewriting are used to implement this mechanism.
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Advantages Of CDN Online business enterprises
like gaming companies, e-commerce websites, cloud
application developers, and live streaming media
services use content delivery networks to offer
better service to their users. Some benefits of
CDN are More Scalability Connectivity CDN
promises a greater user experience through faster
load times. At the same time, CDN also offers
web publishers higher page views, lower site
abandonment, increased traffic, and overall
stronger customer engagement. Less Bandwidth
Consumption Online business owners are charged
for any data they transfer from origin servers.
CDN stores web content copies in a closer
geographical location from its end users, it
ensures less data transfer from origin servers.
The overall cost of enterprises reduces a
lot. Lower Latency The system transfers the
content at the request of end-users. Latency can
be caused due to the distance between servers
and end-users. As CDN delivers content from the
nearby located server, many latency issues are
solved. Efficient Traffic Spike
Management Viral videos or successful marketing
campaigns, and limited-time offers can trigger a
sharp and unexpected rise in demand for content.
CDN prevents server crashes in these cases by
balancing load across web servers in multiple
geographical locations. What Is Cloud Service?
Cloud service or cloud computing is assembled of
large networks of virtualized information
communication technology services like hardware
resources (CPU, network, and storage), software
resources databases, application servers, and
web servers. The use of virtualization has
transformed the traditional data center into a
flexible cloud service infrastructure. Virtualiz
ation methods like hypervisor technology and the
introduction of virtual machines have enabled
cloud service providers to add reliability to
hosted websites or applications to share
resources with the end-users faster. The data
centers can provide flexible online application
service hosting like web hosting, search, emails,
and gaming
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• in a more efficient manner at reduced costs with
  help of cloud service. We have services like
  cheap cloud hosting solutions that offers an
  affordable managed cloud service.
• Cloud service is also referred to as
  Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a
  Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service
  (SaaS). Cloud services are hosted in large data
  centers or data farms, operated by hosting
  companies. Some essential characteristics of
  cloud computing are
• On-demand self-service
• Broad network access
• Resource pooling
• Rapid elasticity
• Measured service
• Cloud service computing enables the developers to
  marshal virtually infinite computing and storage
  options to process and store. Cloud-based
  resources can be used under pay-per-use models
  and when needed, instead of investing in more
  resources.
• How Does Cloud Service Work?
• From a functionality standpoint, cloud computing
  services can be of three types
• Private Cloud
• This system offers a proprietary cloud
  environment dedicated to a single business
  entity. It is connected with physical components
  stored on-premises or at a service providers
  data center. This model offers the users a high
  degree of control as it is only accessible to a
  single business. It ensures advanced security
  protocols, customized architecture, and the
  freedom to extend computing resources in a
  virtualized environment when needed.
• Public Cloud

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• Hybrid Cloud
• As the name suggests, this is a hybrid or
  combination of private and public cloud models.
  Here, organizations get a chance to access the
  benefits of shared resources while using their
  existing IT infrastructure. They are also allowed
  to store sensitive customer data internally and
  access it through applications running in the
  public cloud.
• Benefits Of Cloud Services
• Cloud services are gaining popularity at a rapid
  pace for numerous benefits. This model is more
  cost-effective than on-site server installations
  and can also provide faster and better service.
• Except for the above reasons, business houses
  using cloud services have more options to scale.
  The cloud can serve the organizations during
  their fluctuating needs and real-time changes.
  This model has been proven as more reliable,
  offering successful data backup during disaster
  recovery. Businesses using cloud services dont
  need to maintain costly hardware resources,
  thanks to virtualization.
• CDN Cloud Service Similarities Differences
• CDNs and cloud services are very similar as in
  both cases content is served from geographically
  distributed servers. However, they have a very
  basic difference CDN delivers content to the
  end-users as early as possible, on the contrary,
  cloud services depend on their scalability,
  flexibility, and on-demand delivery of
  applications and data.
• CDN Cloud Service Together
• The above discussion makes two things clear. CDN
  offers a platform to deliver a large chunk of
  content closer to the end-user, and cloud service
  allows easy scaling resources for applications.
  Can both these platforms be used in a combined
  model? Using CDN with cloud computing strategies
  provides a cheaper means of hosting and
  deploying multi-tiered applications which can
  scale on the user demands. Migrating from
  traditional server or client-based CDNs to a
  cloud computing model is a major transformation
  that introduces great opportunities and
  challenges. Some of the major advantages of the
  cloud content delivery network (CCDN) model are
• Pay-as-you-go More cost-effective than owning
  the physical infrastructure which is necessary
  for the users to be a part of CDN.
• Increased Point Of Presence The content is moved
  closer to users than the traditional CDN system
  for the presence of cloud service.

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• CCDN Interoperability The interoperability of
  CDNs through the cloud will allow content
  providers to reach new markets and regions.
• Support For Applications The cloud service can
  support dynamic change facilitating the CDNs to
  support different kinds of applications that have
  unpredictable and predictable bursting traffic.
• Conclusion
• This article identifies the benefits and
  challenges of CDN and cloud services. To
  leverage the benefits of both of them,
  cloud-based CDNs have gained significant
  importance. The integration of CDN and cloud
  services has mutual benefits which allow the
  content to be distributed to the end-user
  efficiently and effectively.

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