Exploring Azure Front Door and CDN

You are already familiar with how to cache dynamic content with a cache-aside pattern. Now, let us take a look at static content caching technology. The cache-aside pattern is still in play but now it needs to cache static files such as images, videos, JavaScript files, and CSS files. For legacy websites, these files are usually stored on the server, and delivery to the customer and loading the web server takes time. Caching those files close to the user can significantly speed up loading and let the web server focus on processing dynamic pages. Azure proposes a solution by caching static files globally as close to users as possible with its CDN.

A CDN is a distributed network of endpoints that can host and deliver web content to users quickly and efficiently. To reduce latency, CDNs cache content on edge servers in point of presence (POP) locations close to end users. POP works like an old-school proxy in corporate networks but is geographically...