What is a Content Delivery Network (CDN)?

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is fundamentally designed to distribute web content effectively based on the geographic location of users. This system works by utilizing a network of servers strategically located across various regions. When a user requests content, such as a webpage, image, or video, the CDN delivers it from the server closest to the user's location. This proximity reduces latency and load times, enhancing the overall user experience by ensuring faster access to content.

The primary role of a CDN is to optimize the delivery of web content, which is particularly important for websites with high traffic or for those serving content to a global audience. CDNs also help to alleviate the load on original content servers, improve availability during peak usage times, and provide added security features such as DDoS protection.

Understanding the purpose of a CDN clarifies why the other choices do not fit the definition. A CDN cannot be described as storing data on a single server or functioning solely as a database storage solution, as its definition hinges on a distributed network. Similarly, while cloud backup systems are important, they serve a different function than content distribution, focusing instead on data recovery and redundancy.