The term CDN or Content Delivery Network simply describes different types of content delivery services — including website or mobile content acceleration, video streaming, software downloads, transparent caching, load balancing, multi-CDN switching, and related analytics.

In layman’s terms, a CDN is basically a network of servers and data centers deliver content and content distribution as close to the ultimate consumer as possible. For files and websites, a CDN assures that local users don’t have to fetch all of their content from the source, which may be on the other side of the country or world.

For live video streaming, a CDN takes a source stream, moves that single source stream efficiently across the core of its network, and delivers it to the edge server that is most proximate to the consumer/viewers. The goal of the CDN for video streaming is to achieve distribution efficiency and to assure the highest quality viewing experience.  

Today, CDNs deliver a significant percentage of Internet content. This includes text, images, and scripts, downloadable media files, software, documents, e-commerce applications, live streaming and on-demand media, and social networks. Examples of endpoints to which a CDN distributes content include web browsers, mobile devices, set-top boxes, and gaming consoles.