Why use a CDN?
My website is static, but it still needs to deliver media files.
Originally these files were stored directly on my server, which had a fixed amount of storage, so the amount was limited by the size of the disk in that server.
I now store my media files in a Storage Zone (a.k.a “bucket”) and use a Content Delivery Network to distribute them.
More storage
Section titled “More storage”The main reason for using a Storage Zone is that I am no longer limited by the size of the storage on my server, and the bucket can effectively expand forever to fit all of my files.
Performance
Section titled “Performance”A CDN caches copies of media files at edge locations closer to visitors. This reduces the distance the requests have to travel, so files are downloaded quicker.
The server that I am renting has a fixed monthly cost, regardless of its usage. Files served by the CDN cost me money, but I expect that for the amount of visitors I have the cost of serving those files will still be way under the cost of the server.
The Raspberry Pi I am using for a server right now costs about £7 per month, and I estimate the CDN to cost me only £1 per month. I will check back after using it for a while and update this.