How CDN Works?

Architecture

Conversant CDN consists of:

• Edge Caching Nodes – Distribute and cache content close to end-users.
• Global Routing Manager (GTM) – Provides intelligent routing based on user location, ISP, network quality, and system load.
• Service Administration Centre (SAC) – Manages configuration and control.

Domain and origin configurations can be applied through the SwiftFederation Console or OpenAPI. Configurations are automatically applied to all edge nodes and the global routing system. Monitoring and analytics data are also accessible through the console.

When an end-user requests content from an accelerated domain, the request first undergoes DNS resolution. The GTM performs client IP geolocation and ASN mapping to identify the user’s region and ISP. Based on real-time path quality metrics (latency, packet loss, jitter) and edge node load, the system applies intelligent routing to return the optimal edge node IP address.

If the requested content is already cached at the edge, it is returned directly. If the content is not found, the request is passed to an Upper-Tier Delivery Edge, which fetches the content from the origin, caches it, and serves it to the user. This hierarchical caching architecture enhances distribution efficiency, reduces origin load, protects the origin, and improves the user experience.

Acceleration Flow

Assume the origin domain is origin.example.com and the acceleration domain is www.example.com. The acceleration flow through the CDN operates as follows:

1. The end-user requests a resource under www.example.com, such as www.example.com/index.html. The client first queries the local DNS server for the IP address of www.example.com.

2. The local DNS checks its cache for an existing record of www.example.com.

   • If cached, the IP is returned directly to the client.
   • If not cached, the local DNS queries the authoritative DNS server for the parsing record of www.example.com.

3. The authoritative DNS server responds with a CNAME record, for example:

   www.example.com → edge.conversant.swiftserve.com

4. The local DNS queries the Conversant Global Routing Management System for the IP address of edge.conversant.swiftserve.com. The system utilises client IP geolocation to identify the user’s region and ISP, evaluates real-time path quality metrics such as latency, packet loss, and jitter, and analyses the current load of candidate edge nodes. Based on these parameters, the system returns the optimal edge node IP address.

5. The local DNS returns the optimal edge node IP to the client.

6. The client sends the access request to the assigned edge node.

7. If the edge node already has the requested resource cached, the content will be responded to the client immediately.

8. If the resource is not cached or the cache has expired, the edge node retrieves the content from the origin server (origin.example.com), caches it according to the configured policy, and then delivers it to the client. Subsequent requests for the same resource will be served directly from the cache.

Key Components

Component	Description
Website Acceleration	Optimises delivery of small and static files (e.g., portal websites, e-commerce websites, news websites, gaming websites, etc.). Caches static assets and images to improve load speed and reduce origin pressure.
Large File Download	Accelerates the distribution of large files (>20 MB) such as game installation packages, software updates, and application packages. Improves download speed and reduces origin bandwidth usage.
Streaming Delivery	Accelerates video and audio delivery for VOD and live services(e.g., video-on-demand (VOD) platforms, online education websites, news websites, short video websites, etc.). Supports streaming protocols including HLS and MPEG-DASH.
Provisioning	Manages accelerated domains. The options include: add, enable/disable, and delete domains.
Global Routing	Provides DNS-based routing with intelligent scheduling across regions and ISPs.
Origin Management	Supports multi-origin redundancy, SNI configuration for SSL/TLS multi-domain, custom request headers, and request coalescing for live streaming scenarios.
Delivery Optimisation	Provides advanced configurations: wildcard domains, HTTP/2 and QUIC protocols, custom cache TTL, image Vary configuration, auto Gzip compression, prefetch, and purge.
Security	Ensures secure delivery with TLS 1.0–1.3, automated SSL certificate provisioning, and policy-based ACL (geo/IP whitelist/blacklist, anti-leech, referrer/origin blocking).
Analytics	Offers near real-time monitoring and analysis: traffic, cache performance, and viewer location reports.
OpenAPI	Provides programmatic access with unified AK/SK authentication via Federation Portal. Supports domain, policy, certificate, cache, analytics, and log management.
Logs	Delivers access logs downloadable via console or API. Logs retained for 30 days, with long-term archiving supported via OSS.
Auditing	Records administrative actions such as domain management, policy configuration, and SSL operations.