I. Why We Chose Gcore for This CDN Evaluation
This time, testing Gcore wasn't simply because “it was Gcore's turn,” but because we encountered a very real problem across multiple overseas projects:Access stability to some European and Eastern European nodes is suboptimal.However, mainstream CDNs in this region offer prices that are disproportionate to their performance.
GcoreIn publicly available materials, it emphasizes its role in Europe, Eastern Europe, and the CIS region Node coverage and network quality—this is precisely the direct motivation for our current testing.
II. Test Environment and Basic Information
| Project | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Testing Party | Independent Cybersecurity Technology Team (In-house Load Testing Environment) |
| Access Domain | Testing Static Resource Site (Images + JS + API) |
| Origin server location | Frankfurt (Dedicated VPS) |
| Access Method | CNAME Integration with Gcore CDN |
| Testing Cycle | for 7 consecutive days |
III. Plan Selection and Billing Method Explanation
During the testing phase, we opted not to use an enterprise-level custom solution, but instead utilized Gcore CDN Standard Plan with Pay-as-You-Go Pricing。
| Billing Items | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Billing Model | Billed based on actual CDN outbound traffic |
| Minimum Commitment | No mandatory monthly minimum spending requirement (subject to official backend display) |
| Additional charges | HTTPS and basic protection are not charged separately. |
It should be noted that Gcore's backendThe pricing display logic is overly engineering-oriented.Unlike Cloudflare, it's not as “product-ready,” requiring some adjustment for first-time users.
IV. CDN Acceleration Capability Testing Methodology
Acceleration testing primarily focuses on two points:Time to First Byte (TTFB) 与 Stability。
curl -o /dev/null -s -w \ DNS: %{time_namelookup}s\n Connect: %{time_connect}s\n TTFB: %{time
"DNS: %{time_namelookup}s\nConnect: %{time_connect}s\nTTFB: %{time_starttransfer}s\nTotal: %{time_total}s\n" \ https://static-test.example.com/test.js
Test nodes are distributed across: Germany, Poland, France, and the United Kingdom.
V. CDN Acceleration Test Results
| Region | Not connected to CDN | Connect to Gcore CDN |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | ~420ms | ~92ms |
| Poland | ~510ms | ~110ms |
| France | ~460 milliseconds | ~98 milliseconds |
| United Kingdom | ~480ms | ~105 milliseconds |
In the European region, Gcore's performanceExtremely stableMoreover, the node switching logic exhibited no noticeable jitter.
VI. DDoS Attack Stress Testing Solution
This DDoS test isSimulate real attack traffic, rather than an ultimate strength test.
| Project | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Attack Type | HTTP Flood / High-Frequency GET |
| Peak requests | Approximately 45,000 requests per second |
| Duration | 15 minutes |
| Objective | Verify CDN Layer Interception and Origin Server Protection |
VII. DDoS Stress Test Results
| Indicator | Result |
|---|---|
| Has the origin server been breached? | 否 |
| Abnormal Traffic Interception | Automatically triggered (without human intervention) |
| Normal user access | Minimal delay, no interruption |
| Return status code | Numerous 403 / 429 errors |
Gcore performed as follows in this test:A relatively conservative interception strategyIt identifies abnormal requests quickly but has slightly lower tolerance for edge cases.
VIII. HTTP Header and Response Code Verification
HTTP/2 200 server: gcore x-cache: HIT x-cache-node: de-fra
The response header clearly identifies the hit node, facilitating troubleshooting and log analysis.
This is very user-friendly for operations and maintenance.
IX. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) During Use
Q1: Is Gcore suitable for beginners?
A: Not really suitable. The backend and documentation lean heavily toward engineering, making it better suited for users with prior CDN experience.
Q2: Does DDoS protection require a separate purchase?
A: Basic protection is enabled by default, but enhanced protection requires communication with the official team.
Q3: Does it support acceleration in mainland China?
A: Not suitable for mainland China operations; its primary strengths lie in Europe and overseas markets.
Q4: Does it support custom rule blocking?
A: Supported. The rules are finely granular, but the configuration overhead is slightly higher.
X. Conclusion
If you ask me:Is Gcore the “Best CDN”? The answer is no.
But if your businessConcentrated in Europe or Eastern EuropeWhat you need isStable, controllable, no frillsIf you're looking for a CDN that's not a marketing-driven product, then Gcore is the one.A choice highly geared toward engineers。
It doesn't pander to users like Cloudflare, nor does it emphasize programmability like Fastly, butNode Quality and Compressive StabilityIt is an underrated option.
