What is the difference between CloudFront and Global Accelerator?

CloudFront is a CDN that caches content at edge locations (Layer 7, HTTP/HTTPS). Global Accelerator routes traffic over AWS backbone to optimal regional endpoints without caching (Layer 4, TCP/UDP) and provides static anycast IPs.

When should I use CloudFront vs Global Accelerator?

Use CloudFront for cacheable web content, APIs, and video streaming with WAF integration. Use Global Accelerator for non-HTTP protocols, static IP whitelisting, instant failover without DNS propagation, and multi-region active-active.

AWS CloudFront vs Global Accelerator

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CloudFront vs Global Accelerator Comparison

When to Choose Which

AWS Certification Exam Practice Questions

Both CloudFront and Global Accelerator use the AWS global edge network to improve performance, but they serve different purposes.

CloudFront is a Content Delivery Network (CDN) that caches content at edge locations.
Global Accelerator routes traffic over the AWS backbone to the optimal regional endpoint without caching.

CloudFront vs Global Accelerator Comparison

Feature	CloudFront	Global Accelerator
Purpose	Content caching and delivery (CDN)	Network traffic acceleration (no caching)
Layer	Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS/WebSocket)	Layer 4 (TCP/UDP)
Caching	Yes – caches content at 400+ edge locations	No caching – proxies all requests to origin
Static IP	No (uses DNS-based routing)	Yes – 2 anycast static IPs
IP Whitelisting	Difficult (IPs change)	Easy (fixed anycast IPs)
Protocols	HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket	TCP, UDP
DNS Propagation	Affected by DNS TTL during failover	Instant failover (no DNS change, same IPs)
Failover	Origin failover (primary/secondary)	Automatic endpoint failover (<30 seconds)
DDoS Protection	AWS Shield Standard (Shield Advanced optional)	AWS Shield Standard (Shield Advanced optional)
WAF Integration	Yes (AWS WAF)	No
Origins/Endpoints	S3, ALB, EC2, custom HTTP origins	ALB, NLB, EC2, Elastic IP
Client Affinity	No (stateless caching)	Yes (source IP based)
Best For	Static/dynamic web content, APIs, video streaming	Gaming, IoT, VoIP, non-HTTP apps needing fixed IPs

When to Choose Which

Choose CloudFront – Web applications, static asset delivery, video streaming, API acceleration with caching, need WAF integration.
Choose Global Accelerator – Non-HTTP protocols (TCP/UDP gaming, IoT), need static IP for whitelisting, instant failover without DNS propagation, multi-region active-active.
Use Both Together – CloudFront for cacheable content + Global Accelerator for the origin endpoint requiring fixed IPs and fast failover.

AWS Certification Exam Practice Questions

A gaming company needs to route UDP traffic to the nearest regional server with sub-30-second failover and static IPs for firewall whitelisting. Which service should they use?
1. CloudFront
2. Route 53 latency-based routing
3. Global Accelerator
4. ALB with multi-region
A media company wants to serve video content and static assets globally with lowest latency and reduce origin load. Which service is most appropriate?
1. Global Accelerator
2. CloudFront
3. S3 Transfer Acceleration
4. Route 53 geolocation routing
An application needs both fast failover (no DNS propagation delay) and static anycast IP addresses for a TCP-based service. The content is dynamic and cannot be cached. Which service fits?
1. CloudFront with cache disabled
2. Global Accelerator
3. Route 53 with health checks
4. NLB with Elastic IPs