What is a CDN and why is it important?

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is indeed a system comprised of distributed servers that work together to deliver web content more efficiently to users based on their geographic location. The primary purpose of a CDN is to enhance the speed and performance of content delivery by caching it closer to end users. This reduces latency and load times significantly, resulting in a better user experience, especially for content-heavy websites like those featuring video streaming, large images, or interactive applications.

The architecture of a CDN enables it to serve content from a nearby server rather than relying on a single origin server, which may be located far from the user. This distributed approach not only speeds up access times but also alleviates the load on the origin server, improving reliability and scalability. Furthermore, CDNs can provide additional benefits such as increased bandwidth and enhanced security features, which contribute to better overall performance of web services.

In contrast, other options describe different concepts that do not capture the essence of a CDN. A single server handling all web traffic would not be efficient for load times or user experience, and cloud storage solutions pertain to data storage rather than content delivery. Similarly, a system that encrypts data before sending focuses on security rather than the efficient distribution of content.