What is Cloud CDN?
Answer
Cloud CDN (Content Delivery Network) is GCP's CDN that uses Google's globally distributed edge points of presence to cache content close to users, reducing latency and origin server load. It is integrated directly with the External Application Load Balancer — enable it with a single checkbox. Cloud CDN caches HTTP responses from your load balancer backends (GCE VMs, GKE, Cloud Storage, Cloud Run). Cache invalidation can be triggered via API. Cache keys are configurable to include/exclude headers and query parameters. Signed URLs and Signed Cookies enable time-limited access to private content. GCP's CDN is powered by the same global infrastructure used for YouTube — one of the largest CDN networks globally. It is tightly integrated with Cloud Storage for static asset delivery.