CDN (Content Delivery Network)
A CDN, or Content Delivery Network, is a globally distributed network of servers designed to deliver web content to users quickly and efficiently. Its primary purpose is to reduce network latency by storing copies of a website's static assets (like images, CSS, and JavaScript) in locations that are physically closer to the end-users. When a user requests a file, the CDN routes the request to the nearest server, which serves the content from its cache, resulting in a much faster load time than fetching it from a distant Origin Server. Speed Kit utilizes a powerful CDN (Fastly) as its Edge Cache.
Related web performance terms
- CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)
CORS is a browser security feature that uses HTTP headers to manage whether a web page from one domain is allowed to fetch resources from another domain.
- CPU time
CPU time is the amount of time the Central Processing Unit (CPU) of a user's device spends processing the scripts and rendering a webpage.
- Cache
A cache is a high-speed, temporary storage layer designed to store copies of website files (like HTML, images, and scripts) closer to the user.
- Cache Contamination
Cache contamination is a critical issue where a caching system incorrectly stores and serves personalized or user-specific content to the wrong users.