What is a content delivery network (CDN) and how does it improve web performance?

What is a content delivery network (CDN) and how does it improve web performance?

• A. A CDN compresses content on the server to reduce bandwidth only.
• B. A CDN caches content at distributed edge servers to reduce latency and improve load times.
• C. A CDN stores backups in a distant data center for disaster recovery.
• D. A CDN runs client-side scripts to optimize rendering.

Answer: (B)

A content delivery network works by placing copies of your site's content on many servers distributed around the world so they’re physically closer to users. When someone requests a resource, the CDN serves it from the nearest edge server. If the asset isn’t cached there yet, the edge server fetches it from the origin and stores a copy for future requests. This proximity dramatically reduces travel distance and latency, so pages load faster. It also takes load off the origin server and helps handle traffic spikes more reliably by distributing delivery across many edge locations.

Compressing content on the server helps with bandwidth but doesn’t by itself bring content closer to users. Storing backups in distant data centers is about disaster recovery, not performance. Running client-side scripts to optimize rendering isn’t the CDN’s primary role.