What is Microsoft Azure CDN?

1. Pre-requisite Knowledge –

Before we start with the understanding of what is Microsoft Azure content delivery network (CDN), we should know –

1. Basic knowledge of cloud computing and its services
2. Basic knowledge of Microsoft Azure
3. Basic knowledge of Web Application Development.

2. Background –

In this article, we will explore what is Microsoft Azure CDN, its features and when to use it.

Before we look into it, let’s understand ‘what is CDN?’ -

• In the internet-facing Web application, we face multiple challenges related to latency issues.
• We need to be more focused on such implementation to minimize the latency to render the content on site.
• There are multiple ways around it. One way is to utilize the ‘Content Delivery Network – CDN’.
• CDN is a distributed network of servers that can efficiently deliver web content to users.
• CDN stores the cached content on servers in point of presence location (POP) which is closer to the user.

3. Introduction of Microsoft Azure CDN –

• Microsoft Azure CDN works on the same model as explained above.
• Azure CDN rapidly delivers the content by caching it physical nodes across the world.

Image Source – Microsoft Docs

• Azure can also serve the dynamic content too like shopping cart, search results which are not cached by using dynamic site acceleration (DSA)
• To start to utilize these features, you must have at least one Azure subscription and CDN profile.
• CDN profile is a collection of endpoints that has configurations of content delivery and access.
• Please note that Azure pricing is based on the CDN profile.
• It is best for –
  • Application having multiple rounds of trips to the servers
  • Serves the content from the edge server which minimizes the load on origin server with less traffic.
  • Delivering static content such as images, videos, style sheets, client-side scripts, and HTML pages to reduce latency
• Features -
  • We can configure custom HTTPS domains on Azure CDN for robust security.
  • Azure diagnostics logs allow you to export basic usage metrics from your CDN endpoint.
  • It has integration with other Azure resources like web apps, media storages, blob, event hubs, log monitoring, etc.
  • We can enable the compression of files in Azure CDN to improve the performance.
  • It has a massive capacity with its global presence to handle heavy loads and sudden traffic rise.
  • Azure CDN integrates with services from Akamai and Verizon, enabling customers to select the right solution for their needs.
  • Azure CDN has API’s to consume it and do further analytics.
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• Azure prices – pay as you use, no upfront and termination fees.

4. Reference Links –

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cdn/
• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/services/cdn/
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cdn/cdn-overview
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cdn/cdn-custom-ssl?tabs=option-1-default-enable-https-with-a-cdn-managed-certificate
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cdn/cdn-azure-diagnostic-logs
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cdn/cdn-improve-performance
• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/cdn/

5. Azure CND Pricing

Conclusion - In this article, we have learned the overview of Microsoft Azure CDN, its services and when to use it.