CDN

Term from Web Development industry explained for recruiters

A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is like having multiple copy machines around the world that store copies of your website's content. When someone visits your website, instead of getting everything from one far-away location, they receive it from the nearest copy machine. This makes websites load faster and work better for users everywhere. Think of it like a coffee chain with many local stores instead of just one central location - people can get their coffee faster by going to the nearest store. Companies like Cloudflare, Akamai, and AWS CloudFront provide these services.

Examples in Resumes

Improved website loading speed by implementing CDN technology

Reduced server costs by 40% through Content Delivery Network optimization

Managed global content distribution using CDN services for high-traffic e-commerce site

Typical job title: "CDN Engineers"

Also try searching for:

Web Performance Engineer CDN Solutions Architect Network Engineer Web Infrastructure Engineer DevOps Engineer Cloud Engineer

Where to Find CDN Engineers

Example Interview Questions

Senior Level Questions

Q: How would you handle CDN failure in a high-traffic website?

Expected Answer: A senior candidate should discuss backup strategies, failover procedures, and having multiple CDN providers. They should mention monitoring systems and automatic switching capabilities.

Q: How would you decide which content should go on a CDN?

Expected Answer: Should explain prioritizing static content like images and videos, considering cost vs performance benefits, and understanding which dynamic content could be cached.

Mid Level Questions

Q: What are the main benefits of using a CDN?

Expected Answer: Should discuss faster loading times, reduced server costs, better handling of traffic spikes, and improved security against certain types of attacks.

Q: How do you measure CDN performance?

Expected Answer: Should mention monitoring loading times, cache hit rates, bandwidth usage, and user experience metrics from different global locations.

Junior Level Questions

Q: What is a CDN and how does it work?

Expected Answer: Should explain the basic concept of distributed content delivery and how it helps make websites faster by serving content from locations closer to users.

Q: What types of content are typically served through a CDN?

Expected Answer: Should list common static content types like images, videos, CSS files, and JavaScript files, explaining why they work well with CDNs.

Experience Level Indicators

Junior (0-2 years)

  • Basic CDN configuration
  • Content upload and management
  • Understanding of caching
  • Basic performance monitoring

Mid (2-5 years)

  • Advanced CDN configuration
  • Performance optimization
  • Security implementation
  • Multiple CDN management

Senior (5+ years)

  • Global CDN strategy
  • Cost optimization
  • Disaster recovery planning
  • Multi-vendor CDN architecture

Red Flags to Watch For

  • No understanding of basic web performance concepts
  • Unfamiliar with major CDN providers
  • Lack of experience with content optimization
  • No knowledge about security aspects of CDNs