Zenlayer CDN Actual Test Record: How about the acceleration effect and anti-pressure ability after real access?

Zenlayer is a company that many people recognize first from its bare metal, global network or acceleration products, CDN is not the most famous line. But from the product structure, its CDN is more like an “extension of the global network capabilities” rather than a traditional CDN that sells cached traffic alone.

Zenlayer's advantage is that it has its own cross-regional backbone network and a large number of overseas nodes, especially in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, where the network coverage is relatively dense. This also determines that its CDN is more suitable for cross-border and overseas access optimization, rather than simply pursuing the domestic extreme low latency.

In terms of positioning, Zenlayer CDN is not like Cloudflare, a one-stop security platform, or Akamai, an ultra-heavy enterprise CDN, but is more geared towards providing a “good network foundation, uncomplicated rules, and cost-controlled” acceleration solution to sites that already have some overseas business. It is also not like Akamai's super-heavy enterprise CDN.

Why choose Zenlayer CDN for evaluation?

This test of the Zenlayer CDN was done for a couple of practical reasons:

• Many overseas sites are using Zenlayer's servers or networks themselves, and it's more natural to add CDN costs and links.
• It has a high number of nodes in emerging markets, which is suitable for validating the practical effects of cross-continental access.
• Billing is a traffic package model, many webmasters will be concerned about the “value”.

This test focuses on just three things:Whether the acceleration is obvious, whether the cache is stable, whether the source station can carry it when hit。

II. Test Environment and Actual Access

The whole process is a real domain access, did not do any “lab optimization”, caching rules are also used only the most basic configuration.

III. Packages and Billing Methods

This model is more suitable for sites with relatively stable traffic, and less suitable for operations with particularly large daily fluctuations.

Fourth, CDN acceleration test methods

curl -o /dev/null -s -w "
DNS: %{time_namelookup}s
TTFB: %{time_starttransfer}s
Total: %{time_total}s
HTTP: %{http_code}
\n" https://cdn-test.example.com/test.jpg

V. CDN Acceleration Test Results

From the results, the cross-continental access latency is controlled in a more reasonable range, especially the emerging market node performs stably without significant jitter.

VI. DDoS Attack Stress Testing Solution

VII. DDoS Stress Test Results

VIII. HTTP Header / Cache Validation

curl -I https://cdn-test.example.com/test.jpg

HTTP/2 200
x-cache: HIT
via: zenlayer-edge

IX. Frequently Asked Questions FAQ (real operation and maintenance to)

• Are the caching rules flexible enough?
  Adequate for basic scenarios, but not for complex logic.
• Does getting hit send traffic directly to the source site?
  There is basic interception, but it is not suitable for resisting large-scale attacks on its own.
• Is it suitable for small stations?
  Average value for money if traffic is minimal.
• Are sites with lots of overseas users worth it?
  value, especially in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

X. Personal View

Zenlayer CDN is not an “all-in-one CDN”, but it has its own advantages in terms of global network coverage and cross-region access. If your business is overseas oriented or you are already using Zenlayer's server system, adding a CDN is the way to go.

But if you're expecting a strong WAF, automated security policies, or extreme attack protection, it's not suitable as a sole line of defense. Overall, it's more like aA CDN with a solid network foundation, clear positioning, and no gimmicks。