Course Overview

Content Delivery Networks power the internet. Every time you stream a video or load a website, a CDN works behind the scenes. It keeps content fast and safe. CDN skill is one of the most wanted skills in tech. Yet few people learn it.

One wrong cache header can serve stale content to millions of users.

This course closes that gap. You may debug cache headers at 2am. You may plan a global delivery plan. You may pick CDN vendors for your company. This course gives you the skill and the nerve to excel.

Thijs de Zoete built this course. He is a CDN architect and founder. He has over 10 years of experience. He has shipped content systems at scale.

Thijs first built Multi-CDN setups for Spil Games. He then founded Warpcache. It was the world's first turn-key RUM-based Multi-CDN tool. RUM means Real User Monitoring. Warpcache used RUM for speed tuning. It sent each user to the fastest CDN in real-time.

Thijs also co-founded the CDN Alliance. It is a non-profit body for the CDN world. He also wrote for the European Broadcasting Union official paper. It covers "Procurement of Interoperable Content Delivery Networks" (EBU R159). That paper holds the same buying ideas taught in this course.

Everything in this course comes from real work. It comes from shipping systems that serve millions of users worldwide.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain how CDNs work at every layer. This spans DNS lookup, edge caching, and origin shields.
• Set caching headers like Cache-Control, ETag, and Vary with care.
• Debug cache issues using response headers. You will know why content caches or misses.
• Set up Nginx and Varnish as caching proxies for production.
• Plan multi-tier caching for high-traffic apps.
• Pick CDN vendors that fit your tech and business needs.

The course has 9 modules and 71 lessons. It moves from basics to advanced topics:

Each module builds on the last one. You can jump to a topic if you know the basics. Modules have quizzes to test you. They also have hands-on labs. There you set up real caching systems.

This course is for tech people. You should have:

• Basic HTTP knowledge. You know requests, replies, and status codes.
• Command line comfort. You can run terminal commands.
• Web exposure. You know how websites work.

No prior CDN skill is needed. That is what you are here to learn.

To earn your CDN Certified badge:

1. Complete all modules. Work through each lesson and lab.
2. Pass module quizzes. Meet each quiz's pass score.
3. Pass the final exam. Show full CDN skill.
4. Receive your certificate. It is a checkable proof you can share with employers.