Review of content distribution network architectures

The main purpose of content distribution network is to redirect Internet users to the servers nearest to them, known as edge cache server. Thus, their desired contents can be obtained more rapidly and steadily. With the optimized QoS (Quality of Service) of the Internet, user experience can be improved to a certain extent. Generally speaking, when it comes to content distribution network, the CDN is first mentioned, not P2P (Peer to Peer), but the fact is that P2P has become an important part of content distribution network. In this paper, we discuss it from the respective of the architecture, not from the specific implementation technology referred to most literatures of the last 20 years. After analyzing its developments, principles, advantages and disadvantages, we conclude that the architectures of CDN and P2P have combined together inevitably, and predict that the CDN-Cloud will become the next generation of content distribution network.