Cloudfront (AWS)

Cloudfront (AWS)

AWS CloudFront: An Overview

Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Launched in 2008, CloudFront is designed to deliver data, videos, applications, and APIs to users globally with low latency and high transfer speeds. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, AWS is known for its robust cloud computing platform and services. CloudFront integrates seamlessly with other AWS services, providing a comprehensive solution for content delivery and security.

Features

FeatureAWS CloudFront
Number of PoPs450+
Web Application FirewallYes
DDoS ProtectionYes
SSL/TLS SupportYes
Origin ShieldYes
Image OptimizationYes
Real-Time AnalyticsYes
Edge ComputingYes
API GatewayYes
Support for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3Yes
Global Anycast NetworkYes
Developer-Friendly ToolsYes

Comparison with Top CDN Providers

FeatureAWS CloudFrontAkamaiGoogle Cloud CDNAzure CDNCloudflare
Number of PoPs450+300+140+130+200+
Web Application FirewallYesYesYesYesYes
DDoS ProtectionYesYesYesYesYes
SSL/TLS SupportYesYesYesYesYes
Origin ShieldYesYesNoNoNo
Image OptimizationYesYesYesYesYes
Real-Time AnalyticsYesYesYesYesYes
Edge ComputingYesYesYesYesYes
API GatewayYesYesYesYesYes
Support for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3YesYesYesYesYes
Global Anycast NetworkYesYesYesYesYes
Developer-Friendly ToolsYesYesYesYesYes

Notable Outages and Events

  • June 2020: AWS CloudFront experienced a significant outage affecting several services and websites due to an issue with its edge locations. AWS quickly identified and resolved the problem.
  • November 2020: A major AWS outage affected multiple services, including CloudFront, due to issues with the Amazon Kinesis data stream. The incident impacted numerous websites and applications that rely on AWS infrastructure.

Notable Customers

Technology

AWS CloudFront utilizes a vast network of edge locations to deliver content quickly and securely to users worldwide. It integrates seamlessly with other AWS services, such as Amazon S3, AWS Shield for DDoS protection, and AWS WAF for web application security. CloudFront supports modern protocols like HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, providing enhanced performance and security. The service also offers comprehensive real-time analytics, image optimization, and edge computing capabilities.

Contributions to Open Source

AWS is a significant contributor to the open-source community, supporting various projects and initiatives. Some notable open-source projects and contributions by AWS include:

  • Amazon Corretto: A no-cost, multiplatform, production-ready distribution of OpenJDK.
  • AWS Amplify: A set of tools and services for building scalable mobile and web applications.
  • Firecracker: A virtualization technology for running multi-tenant container workloads.

Pricing

AWS CloudFront’s pricing model is based on data transfer, requests, and additional features. Below is a general overview of potential pricing components:

Service ComponentEstimated Price Range
Data Transfer Out$0.085 - $0.20 per GB
HTTP/HTTPS Requests$0.0075 per 10,000 requests
Web Application FirewallAdditional cost
DDoS ProtectionAdditional cost
SSL/TLSIncluded
Real-Time AnalyticsIncluded
Edge ComputingAdditional cost

For detailed and tailored pricing, businesses are encouraged to visit the AWS CloudFront pricing page or contact AWS directly for a customized quote based on their specific needs.