9.9. Using a Content Delivery Network

A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of computers distributed geographically across the Internet that is responsible for delivering content to end users. The primary reasons for using a CDN are reliability, scalability, and above all, performance. In fact, by serving content from the location closest to the user, CDNs are able to dramatically decrease network latency.

Some large companies maintain their own CDN, but it is generally cost effective to use a third-party CDN provider such as Akamai Technologies (http://www.akamai.com/) or Limelight Networks (http://www.limelightnetworks.com/).