CloudFront

• Distributes traffic across multiple edge locations
• It sorts requests so that valid HTTP/HTTPS requests are sent to backend hosts.
• Supports geoblocking, to prevent requests from particular geographic locations.
• Helps to distribute content with less delay and higher speeds of data transfer
• It is a self-service and easily configurable
• It is pay-per-use service
• No long term commitment or minimum fees is charged.
• files are sent to end-users by utilizing edge locations spread globally
• To use,
  • For static files, store definitive versions of files in one or more origin servers.
  • Register origin servers with Amazon CloudFront through a simple API call.
  • Include cloudfront.net domain name, or a CNAME alias that you create, in web application, media player, or website.
• global network of edge locations and regional edge caches are used to speed delivery
• apt for distribution of frequently accessed static content
• supports content that can be sent using HTTP or WebSocket protocols.
• works with any origin server that holds original, definitive versions of content, both static and dynamic.
• For every origin for CloudFront distribution, assign a backup origin to serve traffic if primary fails
• use AWS Management Console to configure and manage CloudFront
• edge locations  are worldwide network of data centers called edge locations.
• regional edge caches are located between origin web server and global edge locations
• Geo Restriction feature needs list of countries in which users can access content.
• can create custom error messages for HTTP 4xx and 5xx error responses.

• specify origin servers, like S3 bucket or HTTP server
• upload files to origin servers, called as objects. It can be
  • web pages,
  • images
  • media files
  • anything that can be served over HTTP
• create a CloudFront distribution, to tell which origin servers to get files from
• CloudFront assigns a domain name to new distribution
• CloudFront sends distribution’s configuration to all of its edge locations

CloudFront Reporting

Various CloudFront reports in CloudFront console are

• CloudFront Cache Statistics Reports
• CloudFront Popular Objects Report
• CloudFront Top Referrers Report
• CloudFront Usage Reports
• CloudFront Viewers Reports

CloudFront Cache Statistics Reports

• Total Requests is the sum of
  • total count of requests for all HTTP status codes (like, 200 or 404)
  • total  requests for HTTP methods (like GET, HEAD, or POST)
• Percentage of Viewer Requests by Result Type –hits, misses, and errors as a percentage of total viewer requests
• Bytes Transferred to Viewers –total bytes and bytes from misses
• HTTP Status Codes –viewer requests by HTTP status code

CloudFront Popular Objects Report

• lists the 50 most popular objects
• statistics about those objects
• statistics including
  • the number of requests for object
  • number of hits and misses
  • hit ratio
  • number of bytes served for misses
  • total bytes served
  • number of incomplete downloads
  • total requests listed as per HTTP status code (like 3xx, 4xx).

CloudFront Top Referrers Report

• report includes top 25 referrers
  • the count of requests from a single referrer
  • total count of requests from a single referrer as  % of total

CloudFront Usage Reports

• Number of Requests –count of HTTP/HTTPS requests from edge locations in specific region in a specific time duration
• Data Transferred by Protocol –total amount of data transferred over HTTP and HTTPS from edge locations in selected region during each time interval
• Data Transferred by Destination–total amount of data transferred over HTTP and HTTPS

CloudFront Viewers Reports

• Devices –types of devices (Desktop or Mobile) users use to access content
• Browsers –name and version of web browsers used to access content
• Operating Systems –name and version of the operating system used when accessing content
• Locations – can see country-wise viewers accessing content