Overview

CloudFront works by storing copies of your content (like images, videos, web pages) in locations around the world called "edge locations." When a user visits your website, they receive content from the edge location nearest to them, rather than from your original server which might be thousands of miles away.

For example, if your website is hosted in London but a user visits from Tokyo, instead of the content traveling all the way from London each time, CloudFront serves it from a nearby location in Asia. This significantly reduces loading times and provides a better user experience.

CloudFront automatically handles all the complexity of distributing your content globally. It updates the content in edge locations when changes occur, ensures users always get the latest version, and scales automatically to handle high traffic.

The service also includes security features to protect your content. It can help defend against common web attacks and integrate with AWS security services to ensure only authorized users can access your content.

Example uses

Website Acceleration: Speed up website loading times for users around the world by caching static content like images and CSS files.
Video Streaming: Deliver streaming video content with low latency to viewers anywhere in the world.
Software Distribution: Distribute software updates and downloads quickly to users globally.
Mobile Apps: Accelerate API responses and content delivery for mobile applications.

Integration with other AWS services

CloudFront works seamlessly with many AWS services:

Amazon S3: Serve content stored in S3 buckets through the global CDN network
Amazon EC2: Accelerate dynamic content from your EC2 servers
AWS Certificate Manager: Add free SSL/TLS certificates for secure HTTPS connections
AWS WAF: Protect your content from web security threats

Think of CloudFront as a global network of fast servers that keep copies of your content close to your users, ensuring quick access no matter where they are in the world.

Amazon CloudFront