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CloudFront Features

Authors
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    Name
    Bowen Y
    Twitter

What can the CloudFront do as a CDN?

In reality, CloudFront is a highly versatile Content Delivery Network (CDN) service that can distribute both static and dynamic content. Here are some key points to clarify its capabilities:

  1. Multiple Origin Sources:

    CloudFront can deliver content from various sources, not just S3 buckets. These sources include Amazon EC2 instances, Elastic Load Balancers, and, notably, Amazon API Gateway.

  2. Dynamic Content Delivery:

    CloudFront can also be used to deliver dynamic content. It can forward different types of requests (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.) to the origin, which is very useful for APIs.

  3. Caching Mechanisms:

    While it's known for caching content at edge locations for faster delivery, CloudFront provides options to control how content is cached. For APIs, you might configure CloudFront to not cache the response, effectively making it a pass-through proxy.

  4. Security and SSL/TLS Support:

    CloudFront offers SSL/TLS support and can work with AWS Certificate Manager to handle HTTPS connections, which is essential for secure data transfer and SEO.

  5. Customization and Optimization:

    It allows for URL path-based routing, query string parameters forwarding, and can even modify requests and responses. This makes it suitable for complex applications, including APIs.

  6. Global Content Delivery:

    Like other CDNs, CloudFront delivers content from the nearest edge location to the user, reducing latency. This is beneficial for both static and dynamic content.

  7. HTTP to HTTPS Redirection:

    As mentioned earlier, CloudFront can handle the redirection from HTTP to HTTPS, enhancing the security of your application.