What is CloudFront?

Amazon CloudFront is a Content Delivery Network (CDN) that improves website performance by caching content at multiple edge locations worldwide. Whenever you see CDN in an AWS exam, think CloudFront.

Key Benefits of CloudFront

1. Improved Read Performance – Content is cached at edge locations, reducing latency for users globally.
2. Lower Latency – Users access content from the nearest edge location, improving load times.
3. DDoS Protection – Since content is distributed worldwide, CloudFront helps mitigate DDoS attacks.
4. Global Reach – CloudFront operates with 216+ points of presence (PoPs) globally, and AWS continues expanding them.

How CloudFront Works

1. A user requests content from a CloudFront edge location near them.
2. If the content is cached, CloudFront serves it immediately.
3. If not cached, CloudFront retrieves the content from the origin server (e.g., an S3 bucket, an EC2 instance, or an Application Load Balancer).
4. The content is then cached at the edge location for future requests.

Example Use Case

• Suppose you host a website in an S3 bucket in Australia.
• A user in the U.S. requests access.
• CloudFront fetches the content from Australia and caches it at a U.S. edge location.
• The next U.S. user gets the content directly from the cache, avoiding a long trip to Australia.

CloudFront Origins

CloudFront supports various origin servers, including:

• Amazon S3 Bucket – Used for distributing static files.