The latest articles on DEV Community by cdnzero (@cdnzero). https://dev.to/cdnzero https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3972687%2Fa7b9d10f-922a-44dc-9776-addbdca6c3ff.png https://dev.to/cdnzero en cdnzero Sun, 21 Jun 2026 18:36:44 +0000 https://dev.to/cdnzero/how-i-built-a-cdn-saas-in-30-days-57ia https://dev.to/cdnzero/how-i-built-a-cdn-saas-in-30-days-57ia <h1> How I Built a CDN SaaS in 30 Days 🚀 </h1> <p><em>Building CDNZero: From Idea to Production</em></p> <p>Over the past 30 days, I built <strong>CDNZero</strong>, a developer-focused CDN platform designed to make asset delivery simple for startups, indie hackers, and small teams.</p> <p>This wasn't an attempt to compete with Cloudflare or CloudFront. Instead, the goal was to solve a problem I've personally faced multiple times:</p> <blockquote> <p>Why is serving static assets globally still so complicated?</p> </blockquote> <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>Most CDN setups today involve multiple services and configuration steps:</p> <ol> <li>Create a storage bucket</li> <li>Configure CDN distribution</li> <li>Set cache policies</li> <li>Configure IAM permissions</li> <li>Manage SSL certificates</li> <li>Understand bandwidth pricing</li> </ol> <p>For large organizations, this makes sense.</p> <p>For an indie developer trying to launch an MVP on a weekend?</p> <p>Not so much.</p> <h2> The Idea Behind CDNZero </h2> <p>CDNZero aims to provide:</p> <ul> <li>Asset storage</li> <li>Global CDN delivery</li> <li>Analytics</li> <li>Simple APIs</li> <li>Predictable pricing</li> </ul> <p>without requiring users to become cloud infrastructure experts.</p> <p>The goal is:</p> <blockquote> <p>Upload a file and instantly receive a globally distributed URL.</p> </blockquote> <p>Example:<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>https://cdnzero.com/assets/logo.png </code></pre> </div> <h2> The Tech Stack </h2> <p>I chose technologies I'm comfortable moving quickly with.</p> <h3> Backend </h3> <ul> <li>Python</li> <li>FastAPI</li> <li>PostgreSQL</li> <li>Redis</li> </ul> <p>FastAPI made it easy to build asynchronous APIs and maintain good performance under concurrent requests.</p> <h3> Infrastructure </h3> <ul> <li>Docker</li> <li>Ubuntu</li> <li>AWS</li> <li>S3-compatible object storage</li> </ul> <p>Everything runs inside containers which simplifies deployment and scaling.</p> <h3> CDN Layer </h3> <p>The initial version focuses on:</p> <ul> <li>Asset uploads</li> <li>Asset retrieval</li> <li>Caching</li> <li>Analytics</li> </ul> <p>Future versions will include:</p> <ul> <li>Edge optimization</li> <li>Image transformations</li> <li>Automatic format conversion</li> <li>Smart cache invalidation</li> </ul> <h2> Building the MVP </h2> <p>Instead of trying to launch with every feature imaginable, I focused on the smallest usable version.</p> <h3> Version 1 Included </h3> <p>✅ Upload files</p> <p>✅ Generate CDN URLs</p> <p>✅ Serve assets globally</p> <p>✅ Basic analytics</p> <p>✅ User dashboard</p> <p>Everything else was postponed.</p> <h2> Biggest Challenges </h2> <h3> 1. Storage Management </h3> <p>Uploading files is easy.</p> <p>Managing millions of files efficiently is not.</p> <p>Questions I had to solve:</p> <ul> <li>Naming conventions</li> <li>Directory structures</li> <li>Metadata storage</li> <li>Cleanup strategies</li> </ul> <h3> 2. Cost Predictability </h3> <p>One of the biggest complaints about cloud providers is billing surprises.</p> <p>I wanted CDNZero pricing to remain understandable.</p> <p>This affects every technical decision:</p> <ul> <li>Storage architecture</li> <li>Cache policies</li> <li>Traffic routing</li> </ul> <h3> 3. Analytics </h3> <p>Developers expect visibility.</p> <p>Questions users want answered:</p> <ul> <li>How much bandwidth am I using?</li> <li>Which assets are popular?</li> <li>Which countries generate traffic?</li> <li>What's my cache hit ratio?</li> </ul> <p>Building analytics became almost as important as serving files.</p> <h2> What I Learned </h2> <h3> Start Smaller Than You Think </h3> <p>My original roadmap included:</p> <ul> <li>Image optimization</li> <li>Video streaming</li> <li>Edge functions</li> <li>Multiple regions</li> <li>Custom domains</li> </ul> <p>Most of these were unnecessary for launch.</p> <p>Users need a solution to a problem, not a feature list.</p> <h3> Infrastructure Products Need Trust </h3> <p>People trust their applications to infrastructure.</p> <p>That means:</p> <ul> <li>Reliability matters</li> <li>Documentation matters</li> <li>Monitoring matters</li> </ul> <p>Much more than fancy landing pages.</p> <h3> Developer Experience Wins </h3> <p>The best infrastructure products remove complexity.</p> <p>Good developer experience means:</p> <ul> <li>Clear APIs</li> <li>Simple dashboards</li> <li>Fast onboarding</li> <li>Helpful documentation</li> </ul> <h2> Roadmap </h2> <p>Upcoming features include:</p> <h3> Image Optimization </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>?w=400 ?h=400 &amp;format=webp </code></pre> </div> <h3> Custom Domains </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>cdn.mycompany.com </code></pre> </div> <h3> SDKs </h3> <ul> <li>Python SDK</li> <li>Node.js SDK</li> <li>Go SDK</li> </ul> <h3> CI/CD Integrations </h3> <ul> <li>GitHub Actions</li> <li>GitLab CI</li> <li>Terraform Provider</li> </ul> <h2> Current Status </h2> <p>CDNZero is currently being tested with early users and workloads.</p> <p>The focus right now is:</p> <ol> <li>Improving reliability</li> <li>Collecting feedback</li> <li>Refining pricing</li> <li>Expanding analytics</li> </ol> <p>before scaling further.</p> <h2> Looking for Feedback </h2> <p>If you've built applications that serve images, videos, or static assets:</p> <ul> <li>What frustrates you most about existing CDN providers?</li> <li>What feature would convince you to switch?</li> <li>How important is pricing transparency?</li> </ul> <p>I'd love to hear your thoughts.</p> <p>Building infrastructure products is challenging, but it's also one of the most rewarding areas in software.</p> <p>Thanks for reading.</p> <h2> About CDNZero </h2> <p>CDNZero is a developer-first CDN platform that helps startups and indie developers upload assets and deliver them globally without the complexity of traditional CDN providers.</p> <p><strong>Website:</strong> <a href="https://cdnzero.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://cdnzero.com</a></p> <p><strong>GitHub:</strong> Coming Soon</p> <p><strong>Feedback and suggestions are welcome.</strong></p> infrastructure saas showdev webdev cdnzero Sun, 07 Jun 2026 15:19:05 +0000 https://dev.to/cdnzero/-introducing-cdnzero-4de3 https://dev.to/cdnzero/-introducing-cdnzero-4de3 <p>Fast, Simple, and Affordable Global Content Delivery.</p> <p>CDNZero is a modern Content Delivery Network (CDN) built to help developers, startups, and businesses deliver content faster across the globe without the complexity and cost often associated with traditional CDN providers.</p> <h2> Why CDNZero? </h2> <p>As a developer, I've spent years building SaaS products, APIs, web applications, and cloud infrastructure.</p> <p>One challenge kept appearing repeatedly:</p> <p><strong>How do you deliver content quickly to users around the world without spending a fortune or managing complex infrastructure?</strong></p> <p>Most CDN solutions are powerful, but many are built primarily for large enterprises. Smaller teams often end up paying for features they don't need or spending significant time configuring services.</p> <p>CDNZero was created to provide a simpler alternative.</p> <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>Modern applications face several performance challenges:</p> <ul> <li>Users are distributed globally</li> <li>Latency increases with distance</li> <li>Origin servers become bottlenecks</li> <li>Traffic spikes create scaling challenges</li> <li>Infrastructure costs continue to grow</li> </ul> <p>A slow website isn't just a technical problem.</p> <p>It impacts:</p> <ul> <li>User experience</li> <li>Conversion rates</li> <li>Customer retention</li> <li>Search engine rankings</li> </ul> <h2> The Solution </h2> <p>CDNZero helps bring content closer to your users.</p> <p>By caching and delivering content through distributed edge infrastructure, applications can reduce latency and improve performance worldwide.</p> <h3> Benefits </h3> <p>⚡ Faster page load times</p> <p>🌍 Global content delivery</p> <p>📉 Reduced origin server load</p> <p>💰 Lower bandwidth costs</p> <p>🔒 Secure content delivery</p> <p>🔧 Simple deployment and management</p> <h2> Use Cases </h2> <p>CDNZero is designed for:</p> <ul> <li>SaaS Applications</li> <li>APIs</li> <li>E-commerce Platforms</li> <li>Startup Products</li> <li>Mobile Applications</li> <li>Static Websites</li> <li>Media Delivery</li> <li>Gaming Platforms</li> </ul> <h2> Core Principles </h2> <h3> Simplicity </h3> <p>Infrastructure should not be complicated.</p> <p>Developers should spend time building products, not configuring dozens of CDN settings.</p> <h3> Performance </h3> <p>Every millisecond matters.</p> <p>Fast content delivery directly impacts user satisfaction and business growth.</p> <h3> Accessibility </h3> <p>Enterprise-grade performance should be available to startups, independent developers, and growing businesses.</p> <h2> What We're Building </h2> <p>CDNZero is focused on creating a developer-first content delivery platform that balances performance, reliability, and affordability.</p> <p>Our mission is simple:</p> <blockquote> <p>Make global content delivery accessible to everyone.</p> </blockquote> <h2> We'd Love Your Feedback </h2> <p>If you're a developer, founder, or infrastructure engineer:</p> <ul> <li>What CDN provider do you currently use?</li> <li>What's your biggest content delivery challenge?</li> <li>What features would you like to see in a modern CDN?</li> </ul> <p>Every conversation helps us improve.</p> <h2> Get Started </h2> <p>🌐 Website: <a href="https://www.cdnzero.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">CDNZero</a></p> <h1> CDN #WebPerformance #CloudComputing #DevOps #SaaS #Startup #AWS #DeveloperTools #EdgeComputing #Infrastructure </h1> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgfh97hhvjd89i4th186n.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgfh97hhvjd89i4th186n.png" alt=" " width="800" height="454"></a></p> ai cdn contentdelivery nanobanana