For those who haven’t heard of it before, Amazon Cloudfront CDN is a global content delivery network (CDN) service that delivers data, videos, applications, and APIs to customers worldwide with low latency and high transfer speeds – all while providing security and compliance.
What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN)?
A CDN is a system of distributed servers that deliver pages and other web content to a user based on the geographic locations of the user, the origin of the web page, and the content delivery server.
How Does CloudFront Work?
Cloudfront works by caching your content at Edge Locations closest to your viewers. When a viewer requests content you deliver via Cloudfront, they are routed to the Edge Location that can deliver the content with the lowest latency. Now software solutions allow users to upload and download files via Amazon’s Cloudfront CDN.
What are Edge Locations?
Did you know that Amazon operates data centers with Edge Locations that cache content? These locations are currently spread out across 58 countries worldwide, with a total of 205 Edge Locations available. This means that users can access content faster and more efficiently, no matter where they are in the world.
How to Upload Files to Amazon CloudFront CDN
Uploading files to Amazon’s Cloudfront CDN is simple. First, you need to create an Amazon S3 bucket. Once you have created your bucket, you can then upload your files to the bucket using the AWS Management Console or the AWS Command Line Interface.
Once your files have been uploaded, you can create a distribution in the CloudFront console. Select the files you want to distribute and specify the origins of your distribution. You can then choose either an ElkEdge private or public certificate for your domain. After creating your distribution, you must create a CNAME record in your DNS server so that your domain name points to the CloudFront distribution.
How to Download Files from Amazon’s Cloudfront CDN
Downloading files from Amazon Cloudfront CDN is just as simple as uploading them. You can use the same AWS Management Console or AWS Command Line Interface that you used to upload your files. The only difference is that instead of selecting the “upload” option, you will select the “download” option.
You can also access individual files from your distribution by specifying the file path in the URL. For example, if you wanted to access a file named “test.html” from your distribution, you would specify the following URL:
Try Amazon Cloudfront CDN for yourself today
In addition to the benefits mentioned earlier, Amazon’s Cloudfront CDN also provides an extended version that includes more advanced features such as edge-to-edge SSL, field-level encryption, and real-time logs. These features are particularly useful for businesses with high-security requirements or those that deal with sensitive data. With the extended version, you can ensure that your website is secure and your data is protected while still benefiting from improved website speed and content distribution. Overall, Amazon’s Cloudfront CDN is a versatile solution that can meet the needs of a wide range of businesses.
