Content delivery network (CDN) technology emerged in the late 1990s with the focus on faster content delivery over the internet:
First generation
First-generation CDN services focused on networking principles of intelligent network traffic management and data centers for replication.
Second generation
Second-generation CDNs arose in response to the rise of audio and video streaming services, especially video on demand and news on demand. The technology also evolved to solve new challenges in content delivery on mobile devices. Companies used cloud computing techniques and peer-to-peer networks to accelerate content delivery.
Third generation
Third-generation CDNs are still evolving. AWS is driving innovation as one of the leading CDN service providers in the world. With most web services centralized in the cloud, the focus is now on edge computing—managing bandwidth consumption using smart devices that communicate intelligently. Autonomous and self-managed edge networks might be the next step in CDN technology.