Browse Definitions :
Definition

content delivery (content distribution, content distribution delivery, or content caching)

On the Internet, content delivery (sometimes called content distribution , content distribution delivery , or content caching ) is the service of copying the pages of a Web site to geographically dispersed server s and, when a page is requested, dynamically identifying and serving page content from the closest server to the user, enabling faster delivery. Typically, high-traffic Web site owners and Internet service providers ( ISP s) hire the services of the company that provides content delivery.

A common content delivery approach involves the placement of cache servers at major Internet access points around the world and the use of a special routing code that redirects a Web page request (technically, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP - request) to the closest server. When the Web user clicks on a URL that is content-delivery enabled, the content delivery network re-routes that user's request away from the site's originating server to a cache server closer to the user. The cache server determines what content in the request exists in the cache, serves that content, and retrieves any non-cached content from the originating server. Any new content is also cached locally. Other than faster loading times, the process is generally transparent to the user, except that the URL served may be different than the one requested.

The three main techniques for content delivery are: HTTP redirection, Internet Protocol (IP) redirection, and domain name system ( DNS ) redirection. In general, DNS redirection is the most effective technique.

Content delivery can also be used for specific high-traffic events such as live Web broadcasts by continually dispersing content from the originating server to other servers via satellite links.

Content delivery is similar to but more selective and dynamic than the simple copying or mirror site of a Web site to one or several geographically dispersed servers.

This was last updated in March 2011
Networking
  • remote infrastructure management

    Remote infrastructure management, or RIM, is a comprehensive approach to handling and overseeing an organization's IT ...

  • port address translation (PAT)

    Port address translation (PAT) is a type of network address translation (NAT) that maps a network's private internal IPv4 ...

  • network fabric

    'Network fabric' is a general term used to describe underlying data network infrastructure as a whole.

Security
CIO
  • digital innovation

    Digital innovation is the adoption of modern digital technologies by a business.

  • business goals

    A business goal is an endpoint, accomplishment or target an organization wants to achieve in the short term or long term.

  • vertical SaaS (software as a service)

    Vertical SaaS describes a type of software as a service solution created for a specific industry, such as retail, financial ...

HRSoftware
  • employee onboarding and offboarding

    Employee onboarding involves all the steps needed to get a new employee successfully deployed and productive, while offboarding ...

  • skill-based learning

    Skill-based learning develops students through hands-on practice and real-world application.

  • gamification

    Gamification is a strategy that integrates entertaining and immersive gaming elements into nongame contexts to enhance engagement...

Customer Experience
  • Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based portfolio of business applications from Microsoft that are designed to help organizations improve ...

  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud

    Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a cloud-based suite of products that enable e-commerce businesses to set up e-commerce sites, drive ...

  • Salesforce DX

    Salesforce DX, or SFDX, is a set of software development tools that lets developers build, test and ship many kinds of ...

Close