Edge caching definition
Edge caching is when platforms or websites store digital content closer to users who consume it. It reduces latency and improves page load speeds.
By caching content on edge servers, platforms can serve that content to users more quickly and efficiently. This approach also reduces the traffic load on the origin server (the primary server where the content originates), which can help prevent it from becoming overloaded.
See also: Content Delivery Network
Edge caching use cases
- Video streaming services. Platforms like Netflix and YouTube use edge caching to store and deliver videos to users. These services reduce buffering times and provide smoother playback by caching popular videos on edge servers closer to users.
- Online gaming. In the gaming industry, latency significantly impacts the player experience. Game companies use edge caching to deliver game content more efficiently, reducing latency and improving gameplay.
- Social media. Sites like Facebook and Instagram use edge caching to serve user-uploaded photos and videos quickly.
- Software updates. Companies often use edge caching to distribute software updates and app downloads, ensuring users can download these updates quickly.
- Cloud services. Cloud providers use edge caching to improve the performance of their services. This is particularly important for services like cloud-based apps and platforms where data needs to be accessed quickly and frequently.
