CDN vs Reverse Proxy

Developers should use CDN services when building websites or applications that require fast, global content delivery, especially for static assets, media files, or APIs, to improve user experience and handle high traffic loads meets developers should use a reverse proxy when deploying web applications to distribute traffic across multiple servers, offload ssl encryption, cache static content, and protect against attacks like ddos. Here's our take.

CDN

Nice Pick

Developers should use CDN services when building websites or applications that require fast, global content delivery, especially for static assets, media files, or APIs, to improve user experience and handle high traffic loads

Pros

• It is essential for e-commerce sites, streaming platforms, and SaaS applications where performance and uptime are critical, as it reduces server load and mitigates bottlenecks
• Related to: web-performance, caching

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Reverse Proxy

Developers should use a reverse proxy when deploying web applications to distribute traffic across multiple servers, offload SSL encryption, cache static content, and protect against attacks like DDoS

Pros

• It's essential for high-availability setups, microservices architectures, and scenarios requiring centralized logging or authentication, such as in cloud deployments or containerized environments
• Related to: nginx, apache-http-server

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. CDN is a platform while Reverse Proxy is a tool. We picked CDN based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

CDN wins

Based on overall popularity. CDN is more widely used, but Reverse Proxy excels in its own space.