Implement Azure Content Delivery Network (Azure CDN) endpoints and profiles

Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a powerful service that enables you to deliver high-bandwidth content to users globally with low latency. By caching your content at strategic locations around the world, Azure CDN improves the performance of your applications and reduces the load on your origin servers. In this article, we will discuss how to implement Azure CDN endpoints and profiles to maximize the benefits of this service.

Creating an Azure CDN Profile

To get started with Azure CDN, you need to create a CDN profile. The profile specifies the settings and behavior for all the CDN endpoints associated with it. Here’s how you can create a CDN profile:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
2. In the sidebar, click on “Create a resource” and search for “Azure CDN”.
3. Select “CDN profiles” from the search results and click “Create”.
4. Provide a name for your CDN profile, choose the subscription, and select the resource group.
5. Choose the pricing tier based on your requirements, such as Standard Verizon, Standard Akamai, or Premium Verizon.
6. Click “Create” to create the CDN profile.

Creating an Azure CDN Endpoint

Once you have created a CDN profile, you can add one or more CDN endpoints to it. Each endpoint represents a specific endpoint hostname or domain name that points to the content you want to deliver through the CDN. Here’s how you can create a CDN endpoint:

1. Navigate to the CDN profile you created in the Azure portal.
2. In the CDN profile overview, click on “Endpoints” under the “Settings” section.
3. On the Endpoints page, click “Add” to create a new endpoint.
4. Provide a name for your endpoint and select the origin type. The origin can be a custom origin, such as a website or a storage account, or an Azure function app.
5. Configure the endpoint settings, including the origin hostname, HTTP and HTTPS protocols, and caching rules.
6. Choose the desired pricing tier and click “Create” to create the CDN endpoint.

Verifying and Configuring DNS

After creating a CDN endpoint, you need to verify and configure the DNS settings for the endpoint hostname. Follow these steps to verify and configure DNS:

1. In the Azure portal, go to the CDN profile that contains your endpoint.
2. Click on the endpoint you created to open the endpoint overview.
3. In the endpoint overview, click on the “Custom domains” tab.
4. Click “Add custom domain” and provide the endpoint hostname you want to use (e.g., cdn.yourdomain.com).
5. Follow the instructions to verify ownership of the domain.
6. Once the ownership is verified, configure the DNS settings for your endpoint hostname by creating a CNAME record that points to the CDN endpoint hostname.
7. Make sure to wait for the DNS changes to propagate before using the CDN endpoint.

Using the CDN Endpoint

Once the DNS changes have propagated, you can start using the CDN endpoint to deliver your content. All requests to the endpoint hostname are automatically routed through the CDN to provide optimal performance and reduce latency. The CDN caches your content at edge locations, making subsequent requests faster.

To utilize the CDN endpoint effectively, you can leverage additional features like the rules engine, compression, and custom domain HTTPS. The rules engine allows you to customize the behavior of the CDN based on various conditions. Compression reduces the size of your content, improving the transfer speed. Custom domain HTTPS enables secure delivery of your content over HTTPS using your custom domain.

Summary

In this article, we discussed how to implement Azure CDN endpoints and profiles to enhance the performance and delivery of your content. We covered the steps to create a CDN profile, add CDN endpoints, verify and configure DNS, and utilize the CDN endpoint for content delivery. By leveraging Azure CDN, you can ensure a faster and more consistent experience for your users worldwide.