CloudEDGE How-To Guides on Webscale Product Documentation

CloudEDGE CDN Overview

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Content Delivery Networks (CDN) enhance a website’s performance and page load time by caching assets across multiple edge locations in the cloud. (The edge is the network location closest to where the user’s browser connects to Webscale.) These locations are geographically distributed for a quicker delivery of static assets and cacheable API content to users from the location that is closest to them.

Assets include static content, such as images, CSS, and JavaScript as well as media content like videos. When a user wants to access assets, their web browser generates an HTTP request. If the assets are cached and available, the CDN serves them directly, forgoing a request to the application servers and reducing response time.

Introduction to Configuring CloudEDGE CDN

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CloudEDGE CDN (also known as Webscale CDN) offloads cachable assets from web servers to CDN providers. In addition, it provides advanced security and near real-time logging to track performance and ensure Webscale CDN is running smoothly.

Configuring Webscale CDN for an application consists of the following stages.

Fulfill pre-requisites
[Enable Webscale CDN](](/docs/how-tos/CloudEDGE/cdn-config-finalsteps/#enable-webscale-cdn)
[Configure accelerators](](/docs/how-tos/CloudEDGE/cdn-config-finalsteps/#configure-accelerators)
[Set up caching policies](](/docs/how-tos/CloudEDGE/cdn-config-finalsteps/#set-up-caching-policies)
[Validation](](/docs/how-tos/CloudEDGE/cdn-config-prereqs/#pre-requisite-validation)

If you change your mind about enabling Webscale CDN, you can roll back the configuration.

Pre-requisites for Configuring CloudEDGE CDN

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Before enabling CloudEDGE CDN (also known as Webscale CDN) ensure that you meet the following pre-requisites in the order presented below.

Note:

While the Webscale Provisioning team has most likely already handled some of these tasks, verify that your system meets the pre-requisites.

Set up DNS

Create aliases for all domains under the application. For information on how to view, add, and delete application aliases, see [Application aliases](](/docs/how-tos/general/app-general-settings/#application-aliases) in Configuring General Application Settings .

Note:

For aliases that you would like to include in your CloudFront CDN installation, select the corresponding CDN checkbox for each alias. For aliases exclusive to Webscale, make sure the corresponding checkboxes are cleared.

Completing CloudEDGE CDN Configuration

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After you fulfill the configuration pre-requisites, complete the final steps for configuring CloudEDGE CDN (also known as Webscale CDN).

The final steps consist of the following tasks.

If you decide to roll back Webscale CDN, doing so is a simple process.

Enable Webscale CDN

You can enable Webscale CDN through the CDN page for the application. The CDN delivery options determine how Webscale will use CDN.

Configuring CloudEDGE CDN Caching Policies

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After you enable CloudEDGE CDN (also known as Webscale CDN) for your application, you can use the Webscale Control Panel to configure caching policies through CDN controls. These policies define how Webscale CDN processes requests and responses, including what happens when Webscale CDN forwards requests to your application.

CDN controls allow you to run custom JavaScript at key points of the traffic pipeline via the CloudEDGE Workers feature, including as traffic transits to your application and after your application generates a response. This allows for easy extension to the capability of your application without changing your deployed code. For more information about the CloudEDGE Workers feature, see CloudEDGE Workers Overview .

CloudEDGE Workers Overview

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The Webscale CloudEDGE platform is a distributed cloud computing platform. It enables fast, personalized commerce and application content delivery to the edge. (The edge is the network location closest to where the user’s browser connects to Webscale). The platform includes CloudEDGE CDN and CloudEDGE Workers, which you can manage through the Webscale Control Panel.

The caching policies for your application specify how CloudEDGE CDN (also known as Webscale CDN) caches resources. They determine what resources are cached, how long they are cached, and how Webscale CDN processes requests for cache misses. The CloudEDGE Workers feature expands the functionality of Webscale CDN for your application by executing custom JavaScript code on the edge.

CloudEDGE Workers Usage Example

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CloudEDGE Workers is a feature that expands the functionality of CloudEDGE CDN for your application by executing custom JavaScript code on the edge. It is part of the CloudEDGE distributed computing platform along with CloudEDGE CDN.

Webscale CDN enhances a website’s performance and page load time by caching assets across multiple edge locations in the cloud. Webscale CDN also processes requests unrelated to caching. Since all requests pass through the Webscale CDN, CloudEDGE workers are able to execute on both cached and uncached requests.

Working with CloudEDGE Handlers and Workers

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The CloudEDGE Workers feature adds programmability and on-arrival code execution to CloudEDGE CDN (also known as Webscale CDN). It extends your application’s functionality using custom JavaScript without changing your application code. When you use CloudEDGE Workers, it augments a request that Webscale CDN forwards to origin after a cache miss or a response that origin returns to Webscale CDN.

The CloudEDGE Workers feature uses the following components.

Handler files that include custom JavaScript source files
Handlers that incorporate the handler files
Workers that run the JavaScript code according to CloudEDGE CDN caching policies

Configuring CloudEDGE workers (also known as workers) involves the following process.

Creating CloudEDGE Handler Files

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CloudEDGE workers provide a way to augment your application by modifying the requests that it handles and the responses that it generates without the need to change your existing, deployed application code.

Handlers run your custom JavaScript code in a serverless execution environment that is agnostic to your cloud provider. They provide a uniform development environment and deployment flexibility. Additionally, handlers can run at the CDN edge, closer to your users, which allows for improved response times.