What Is a CDN and Why You Need It for Video Streaming

What Is CDN and Why You Need It

CDNs — content delivery networks are the backbone of the Internet. They enable smooth delivery and access to end users for all types of online content — texts, videos, images, etc. But what is CDN exactly, how does it work, and in what way does it benefit website publishers?

What is CDN?

A content delivery or distribution network (CDN) is a group of geographically spread-out interconnected servers that distribute content to users. However, a CDN is not to be mistaken for traditional hosting. While hosting servers contain all of your content assets, a CDN caches saved versions of your website’s content from numerous global servers and allows for smoother delivery.

To conclude, these networks offer better speed, security, and availability by narrowing the physical distance between the user and the origin server. Instead of data traveling from the original server to the user’s computer, the closest CDN server transmits the original website data to the user. However, publishers should note that, for the optimal balance of speed, performance, and functionality of their website, both a CDN and hosting are required.

Offer a smooth video viewing experience with TargetVideo’s fast, global CDN.

Learn More

How Does CDN Work?

Simply put, a CDN works by transferring and caching data from the origin server. Let’s say you own an OTT streaming platform. Online users these days are quite impatient, so you need to make sure your website pages, video player, and VOD content load as quickly as possible. In other words, data needs to be transferred from the website server to the user’s computer without much delay. If the server is too far from their location, the loading time will be longer. Here is where a CDN comes in and streamlines the entire process. By having CDN servers distributed all around, your online users will be able to receive website data from the nearest server and load content swiftly.

CDN illustration on how it works

What Are the Benefits of a CDN?

While it’s no secret that CDNs improve user experience and can potentially help publishers save on bandwidth costs, here’s how CDNs can also benefit publishers directly. 

Faster Loading 

CDN servers reduce page or video loading time. They ensure that the content response time is minimal, so there is no noticeable lag between, for instance, pressing the play button in the video player and playing the video. Users are often impatient, and slow loading can easily cause a loss of interest. A CDN helps you reduce bounce rates and increase the time users spend on your website. However, the final loading time will also greatly depend on the viewer’s broadband speed. 

Loading time illustration

Lower Bandwidth Consumption

Thanks to the interconnected servers that cache data from your website, the origin server won’t have to deal with every single user access request. Therefore, a CDN drastically lowers bandwidth consumption. 

Lower Video Distribution Costs

Related to the previous point, hosting services charge a lot for bandwidth. So employing a CDN will help you save on bandwidth consumption costs, allowing you to distribute content for a far more reasonable price.  

lower distribution costs illustration

Better Content Availability

CDN servers can handle more traffic than origin servers, making them less susceptible to website crashes. Additionally, in cases where one or more CDN servers go offline, other functioning servers can replace them to ensure uninterrupted delivery to end users. 

Better Security

If your website only transmits data from the origin server, it will be more vulnerable to malicious attempts, including DDoS attacks. The best CDN services will provide you with first-rate protection and DDoS mitigation. 

better security illustration

Deliver Your Content to Worldwide Audiences With TargetVideo

If you’re interested in delivering videos to your audiences without much hassle, look no further than TargetVideo’s online video platform. We offer secure hosting and an intuitive CMS, allowing publishers to upload, host, and manage videos all from a single dashboard. Publishers can also monitor video performance and track user engagement with real-time video analytics.

In addition, our superior fully customizable HTML5 video player delivers smooth playback with no disruptions. Lastly, if you’re interested in making revenue from your video content, TargetVideo offers scalable video monetization solutions. Join our video revenue and engagement platform today!


Secure Video Hosting
Cloud Encoding and Transcoding
Easy Upload

Learn More

FAQ

1. What is a CDN and how does it work?

2. Is CDN faster than a server?

3. Who uses CDN?

4. What is the difference between DNS and CDN?