Understanding CDN Caching: The Difference Between HIT and MISS

When a user requests a webpage, the CDN checks its cache for the requested content. If the CDN has the content, it's called a HIT. The content is then served directly from the cache, resulting in a faster load time for the user.

On the other hand, if the CDN doesn't have the content, it's called a MISS. The CDN then retrieves the content from the origin server and caches it for future requests. This process takes longer than serving content from the cache, resulting in a slower load time for the user.

In summary, a HIT occurs when the CDN has the requested content in its cache, resulting in a faster load time for the user. A MISS occurs when the CDN doesn't have the requested content in its cache, resulting in a slower load time for the user as the CDN retrieves the content from the origin server.

When testing the performance of your website with WP Compress Active, it's important to ensure that the content is served from the CDN cache, resulting in the fastest possible load times. However, it's worth noting that it can take a few page loads to get a CDN cache hit, as CDNs operate by caching content based on the frequency and recency of requests. Once the content is cached, subsequent requests are served faster from the cache and you'll be getting our fastest speeds!

CDN MISS(453 Milliseconds load)

CDN HIT (3 Milliseconds load)

That's literally 151x or 99.3% faster with a cache hit!

Updated on: 02/22/2023