Google Cloud CDN vs Google Cloud Storage: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the key differences between Google Cloud CDN (Content Delivery Network) and Google Cloud Storage. Both services are provided by Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and are commonly used for storing and delivering content over the internet.

1. Scalability and Performance: Google Cloud Storage is primarily designed for storing and retrieving data, providing highly durable and available object storage. It offers high scalability, allowing users to store and retrieve any amount of data with low latency. On the other hand, Google Cloud CDN is a content delivery network that caches content at the edge locations worldwide to provide faster delivery to end-users. It improves performance by serving content from the nearest edge location instead of the origin server, reducing latency and improving global availability.

2. Caching and Content Delivery: Google Cloud Storage doesn't inherently provide caching capabilities. Each request for the stored content is directly served from the storage bucket, requiring the data to be retrieved from the origin server for each request. In contrast, Google Cloud CDN is specifically designed for caching and content delivery. It caches frequently accessed content at edge locations, reducing the load on the origin server and improving response times for subsequent requests.

3. Content Purging and Invalidation: In Google Cloud Storage, once the content is stored, it cannot be directly invalidated or purged. Any changes or updates to the content require uploading a new version, and the old version will continue to be delivered until all the cached versions are expired. In contrast, Google Cloud CDN provides the ability to easily invalidate or purge content from the cache. This allows for quick updates or removal of content from edge locations, ensuring that the latest versions of the content are delivered to users.

4. Origin Server Control and Authentication: Google Cloud Storage directly serves content from the storage bucket, and the control over content delivery lies solely with the storage bucket configuration. In comparison, Google Cloud CDN provides more control over content delivery by allowing the use of an origin server. This allows for custom authentication mechanisms, such as verifying request signatures or integrating with identity providers, to control access to the content at the origin server before being served by the CDN.

5. Pricing Model: Google Cloud Storage has a pricing model based on storage and data egress, i.e., the amount of data sent out of the storage. It doesn't charge separately for content retrieval. On the other hand, Google Cloud CDN has a separate pricing model based on the volume of data transferred and the number of requests served. This means that using Google Cloud CDN for content delivery incurs additional cost on top of the storage and egress charges of Google Cloud Storage.

6. SSL/TLS Support: Google Cloud Storage supports SSL/TLS encryption for secure communication between clients and the storage bucket. However, the SSL/TLS termination and encryption are handled at the origin server level instead of the edge locations. In contrast, Google Cloud CDN supports SSL/TLS termination at the edge locations, allowing for faster and secure content delivery directly from the edge to the end-users.

In summary, Google Cloud CDN and Google Cloud Storage have significant differences in their primary purposes and functionalities. While Google Cloud Storage is focused on scalable object storage, Google Cloud CDN offers caching and content delivery capabilities to improve performance, control content delivery, and reduce latency through edge locations worldwide.