Azure CDN
By Microsoft
Azure CDN is Microsoft Azure's content delivery network service for caching and serving static and dynamic content from globally distributed edge points of presence, reducing latency for end users.
Definition
Azure CDN is Microsoft Azure's content delivery network service for caching and serving static and dynamic content from globally distributed edge points of presence, reducing latency for end users.
Overview
Azure CDN provides the same core function as other cloud CDNs: it caches content — images, scripts, stylesheets, video, and other assets — at edge points of presence around the world, so that users are served from a nearby location instead of the origin server for every request. Origins can include Azure services such as Blob Storage or Azure App Service, as well as non-Azure origins. Historically, Azure offered CDN capacity through multiple partner networks (including Microsoft's own network and third-party providers), giving customers a choice of underlying edge network depending on their performance and feature needs. Over time, Microsoft has consolidated much of its edge and CDN strategy into Azure Front Door, which combines CDN-style caching with global load balancing, a web application firewall, and application acceleration in a single service, making it the more commonly recommended option for new projects that need both CDN and traffic-routing capabilities. Like its counterparts AWS CloudFront and Google Cloud CDN, Azure's CDN capabilities are typically used alongside Azure DNS and TLS/HTTPS termination to build a complete, low-latency delivery pipeline for static assets and web applications.
Key Features
- Caches static and dynamic content at globally distributed edge locations
- Supports Azure origins like Blob Storage and App Service, and external origins
- Custom domain support with HTTPS/TLS termination
- Rules engine for caching behavior, redirects, and header manipulation
- Real-time analytics on cache hit ratios and traffic patterns
- Increasingly consolidated with Azure Front Door for combined CDN and WAF capabilities
- Compression support to reduce payload size for cached assets
- Integration with Azure Monitor for performance visibility