When should you use a CDN?

When should you use a CDN?

• A. Streaming dynamic, non-cacheable API responses.
• B. Serving static or cacheable content to a global audience.
• C. Real-time two-way chat.
• D. Internal log aggregation.

Answer: (B)

A CDN is most effective when you have static or cacheable content you want delivered quickly to users around the world. By caching files like images, CSS, JavaScript, and videos at edge locations, a CDN reduces latency and offloads work from the origin server, making global delivery fast and scalable. The other scenarios don’t fit that model: streaming dynamic, non-cacheable API responses rely on fresh data and per-request processing, so caching them would risk stale results. Real-time two-way chat needs instant, persistent connectivity and low latency for interactions, which isn’t what a CDN is designed to optimize. Internal log aggregation isn’t about delivering content to end users; it’s about collecting and processing data, usually within a controlled environment rather than caching content at edge locations.

A CDN is most effective when you have static or cacheable content you want delivered quickly to users around the world. By caching files like images, CSS, JavaScript, and videos at edge locations, a CDN reduces latency and offloads work from the origin server, making global delivery fast and scalable.

The other scenarios don’t fit that model: streaming dynamic, non-cacheable API responses rely on fresh data and per-request processing, so caching them would risk stale results. Real-time two-way chat needs instant, persistent connectivity and low latency for interactions, which isn’t what a CDN is designed to optimize. Internal log aggregation isn’t about delivering content to end users; it’s about collecting and processing data, usually within a controlled environment rather than caching content at edge locations.