Inquiry on CDN Usage for Existing AEM Projects

[KannanCh2]

Hi All

I am trying to understand whether our existing AEM projects are utilizing a CDN. Could you assist me in identifying the following?

1. How can we check the current configuration to see if a CDN (such as Fastly or Akamai) is being used with our AEM setup?
2. Are there specific indicators or configuration files within AEM or our server setup that would confirm CDN usage?

Any detailed steps or documentation you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Jörg_Hoh · Accepted solution]

The easiest way is probably to check on the DNS level. For example www.adobe.com

$ host www.adobe.com 
www.adobe.com is an alias for stls.adobe.com-cn.edgesuite.net.
stls.adobe.com-cn.edgesuite.net is an alias for stls.adobe.com-cn.edgesuite.net.globalredir.akadns.net.
stls.adobe.com-cn.edgesuite.net.globalredir.akadns.net is an alias for a1815.dscr.akamai.net.

Here you can see that the DNS name does not point to an IP address directly, but is an alias for another hostname outside of the adobe.com namespace. In this case it's Akamai.

You can do something similar with any domain. 

If you are less familiar with DNS, you can also use something like CDN Finder (https://www.cdnplanet.com/tools/cdnfinder/)

[HrishikeshKa]

Hi @KannanCh2 ,

To check if a CDN is being used with your AEM setup, you can follow these steps:

1. Check the AEM Dispatcher configuration: The AEM Dispatcher is responsible for caching and delivering content to end-users. If a CDN is being used, it's likely that the Dispatcher is configured to forward requests to the CDN instead of the AEM instance. Check the Dispatcher configuration file (`dispatcher.any`) to see if there are any rules or configurations related to CDN usage. Look for any `url` or `hostname` configurations that point to a CDN domain.

2. Check the DNS configuration: If a CDN is being used, it's likely that the DNS configuration is set up to point to the CDN domain instead of the AEM instance. Check the DNS configuration for your domain to see if there are any CNAME or A records pointing to a CDN domain.

3. Check the HTTP headers: When a CDN is used, it typically adds specific HTTP headers to the response to indicate that the content was served from the CDN. Check the HTTP headers of a page or asset served from your AEM instance to see if there are any headers related to CDN usage. Common headers include `X-Cache`, `X-Cache-Hits`, and `X-CDN`.

4. Check with your CDN provider: If you're still unsure whether a CDN is being used, you can check with your CDN provider to see if they have any configurations or settings related to your AEM instance.

Note that the specific steps and configurations may vary depending on your AEM setup and the CDN provider being used. It's always a good practice to consult with your IT team or CDN provider to ensure that the appropriate configurations are in place.

Additionally, if you're looking to implement a CDN for your AEM instance, you can refer to the AEM documentation for guidance on configuring the AEM Dispatcher with a CDN.

[gkalyan]

@KannanCh2 

Here is documentation from Adobe

The below document has some sample configurations as well.

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-cloud-service/content/implementing/con...

Check the dispatcher.any file(s) in your AEM project for the following:

• The /renderer block should have a renderer.hostname property pointing to a CDN domain (e.g., cdn.example.com).
• The /cache block should have a cache.docroot property pointing to the CDN cache directory.
• If these properties are present and pointing to a CDN domain/directory, it indicates that a CDN is being used.

If you don't have access to dispatcher, you can try looking into AEM publish instance system console config

• Go to /system/console/configMgr and look for the "Adobe Granite HTTP Header Authentication Handler" configuration. If the "Authentication Headers" property includes X-Cdn-Forward or similar, it suggests a CDN is in use.
• Check the com.day.cq.commons.impl.CDNRewriter configuration for any CDN-related settings like CDN domain, protocol, etc.

[kautuk_sahni]

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