CDN cache purge
Cache is only useful if you can invalidate it.
A global cache that cannot purge becomes a liability on deploy, price change or takedown. Waiting on TTL is not an editorial process.
Cloud CDN supports purge by URL, file or directory, plus prefetch. Use long TTLs on hashed assets and purge HTML or media when the source changes.
Why teams use Aptranet
What CDN cache purge looks like on this network.
Cloud CDN caches and accelerates eligible content on 210+ points of presence, with Origin Shield when the origin must stay out of the way.
Purge by URL, file or directory
Invalidate exactly the path that changed instead of dropping the whole cache.
Prefetch before the spike
Warm heroes, depots or HTML before a launch so the first users do not all miss.
Built for an 85% hit ratio
The network averages an 85% cache hit ratio when content is actually reusable.
How to set it up
A cutover you can validate before DNS moves.
Create the Cloud CDN configuration, prove it on an Aptranet hostname, then point production DNS when the path looks correct.
- 1Separate hashed and unhashed paths
Hashed files rarely need purge. HTML and latest pointers do.
- 2Hook purge to deploy and publish
CI and CMS webhooks should call purge for the URLs they change.
- 3Prefetch launch assets
Before a campaign or release, prefetch the objects you know will be hot.
- 4Confirm with logs
Watch hit ratio and origin traffic after purge to ensure the new object is served.
Outcomes
What changes once the hostname is on Aptranet.
- HTML can go live without waiting on TTL
- Hashed assets keep long TTLs
- Launch files can be warmed in advance
- Takedowns can invalidate a path immediately
Keep reading
Related pages
More CDN use cases on the same Cloud CDN footprint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Prefer URL or directory purge. Broad invalidation is a last resort because it creates an origin spike.
Purge is an operational control on the distribution. Validate timing on a test path before you depend on it for a launch.
Purge the source URL so derived variants rebuild on the next request.
Purge the URLs that changed. Saving a draft should not invalidate the public page.