Merge pull request #299554 from halkazwini/afd-tiers

Updates#2: Comparison between Azure Front Door and Azure CDN services

Author: JamesJBarnett

articles/frontdoor/front-door-cdn-comparison.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ author: halkazwini
 ms.author: halkazwini
 ms.service: azure-frontdoor
 ms.topic: concept-article
-ms.date: 05/06/2025
+ms.date: 05/08/2025
 ---
 
 # Comparison between Azure Front Door and Azure CDN services
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ Azure Front Door and Azure CDN are both Azure services that offer global content
 :::image type="content" source="./media/front-door-cdn-comparison/architecture.png" alt-text="Diagram of Azure Front Door architecture.":::
 
 > [!NOTE]
-> To switch between tiers, you must recreate the Azure Front Door profile. You can use the [**migration capability**](migrate-tier.md) to move your existing Azure Front Door profile to the new tier. For more information about upgrading from Standard to Premium, see [**upgrade capability**](tier-upgrade.md).
+> To switch between tiers, you must recreate the Azure Front Door profile:
+> - From Azure Front Door (classic) to the Standard or Premium tier: use the [**migration capability**](migrate-tier.md).
+> - From Azure Front Door Standard to Premium: use the [**upgrade capability**](tier-upgrade.md).
 
 [!INCLUDE [Azure Front Door (classic) retirement notice](../../includes/front-door-classic-retirement.md)]
 
@@ -31,16 +33,16 @@ The following table provides a comparison between Azure Front Door and Azure CDN
 | Static file delivery | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Dynamic site delivery | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |  |
 | **Domains and certs** | | | | |
-| Custom domains | ✓ - DNS TXT record based domain validation | ✓ - DNS TXT record based domain validation | ✓ - CNAME based validation | ✓ - CNAME based validation |
-| Prevalidated domain integration with Azure PaaS Service | ✓ | ✓ |  |  |
+| Custom domains | ✓ (DNS TXT record based domain validation) | ✓ (DNS TXT record based domain validation) | ✓ (CNAME based validation) | ✓ (CNAME based validation) |
+| Prevalidated domain integration with Azure PaaS service | ✓ | ✓ |  |  |
 | HTTPS support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Custom domain HTTPS | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Bring your own certificate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
-| Supported TLS Versions | TLS1.3, TLS1.2, TLS1.0 | TLS1.3 TLS1.2, TLS1.0 | TLS1.3, TLS1.2, TLS1.0 | TLS1.3, TLS 1.2, TLS 1.0/1.1 |
+| Supported TLS versions | TLS1.3, TLS1.2, TLS1.0 | TLS1.3 TLS1.2, TLS1.0 | TLS1.3, TLS1.2, TLS1.0 | TLS1.3, TLS 1.2, TLS 1.0/1.1 |
 | **Caching** | | | | |
 | Query string caching | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Cache management (purge, rules, and compression) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
-| Cache behavior settings | ✓ - using standard rules engine | ✓ - using standard rules engine | ✓ - using standard rules engine | ✓ - using standard rules engine |
+| Cache behavior settings | ✓ (using standard rules engine) | ✓ (using standard rules engine) | ✓ (using standard rules engine) | ✓ (using standard rules engine) |
 | **Routing** | | | | |
 | Origin load balancing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Path based routing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
@@ -51,20 +53,20 @@ The following table provides a comparison between Azure Front Door and Azure CDN
 | IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | HTTP/2 support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Routing preference unmetered | Not required as Data transfer from Azure origin to AFD is free and path is directly connected | Not required as Data transfer from Azure origin to AFD is free and path is directly connected | Not required as Data transfer from Azure origin to AFD is free and path is directly connected | Not required as Data transfer from Azure origin to CDN is free and path is directly connected |
-| Origin Port | All TCP ports | All TCP ports | All TCP ports | All TCP ports |
-| Customizable, rules based content delivery engine | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ using Standard rules engine |
-| Mobile device rules | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ using Standard rules engine |
+| Origin port | All TCP ports | All TCP ports | All TCP ports | All TCP ports |
+| Customizable, rules based content delivery engine | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (using standard rules engine) |
+| Mobile device rules | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (using standard rules engine) |
 | **Security** | | | | |
 | Custom Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |  |
-| Microsoft managed rule set |  | ✓ | ✓ - Only default rule set 1.1 or less |  |
-| Bot protection |  | ✓ | ✓ - Only bot manager rule set 1.0 |  |
-| Private link connection to origin |  | ✓ |  |  |
+| Microsoft managed rule set |  | ✓ | ✓ (only default rule set 1.1 or less) |  |
+| Bot protection |  | ✓ | ✓ (only bot manager rule set 1.0) |  |
+| Private Link connection to origin |  | ✓ |  |  |
 | Geo-filtering | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
-| DDOS protection | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
-| Domain Fronting Block | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
+| DDoS protection | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
+| Domain fronting block | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | **Analytics and reporting** | | | | |
-| Monitoring Metrics | ✓ (more metrics than Classic) | ✓ (more metrics than Classic) | ✓ | ✓ |
-| Advanced analytics/built-in reports | ✓ | ✓ - includes WAF report |  |  |
+| Monitoring metrics | ✓ (more metrics than Classic) | ✓ (more metrics than Classic) | ✓ | ✓ |
+| Advanced analytics/built-in reports | ✓ | ✓ (includes WAF report) |  |  |
 | Raw logs - access logs and WAF logs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | Health probe log | ✓ | ✓ |  |  |
 | **Ease of use** | | | | |
@@ -75,21 +77,21 @@ The following table provides a comparison between Azure Front Door and Azure CDN
 | Azure Policy integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |  |
 | Azure Advisory integration | ✓ | ✓ |  | ✓ |
 | Managed Identities with Azure Key Vault | ✓ | ✓ |  |  |
-| **Pricing** | [Azure Front Door pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/frontdoor/) | | | [Azure CDN pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/cdn/) |
+| **Pricing** | [Azure Front Door pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/frontdoor/) | [Azure Front Door pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/frontdoor/) | [Azure Front Door pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/frontdoor/)| [Azure CDN pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/cdn/) |
 | Simplified pricing | ✓ | ✓ |  | ✓ |
 
 ## Services on retirement path
 The following table lists services that are on retirement path, frequently asked questions regarding retirement, and migration guidance.
 
 | Details | Front Door (classic) | CDN Standard from Microsoft (classic) | CDN Standard from Akamai | CDN Standard/Premium from Edgio |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
-| Retirement Date | March 31, 2027 | September 30, 2027 | December 31, 2023 | January 15, 2025 |
+| Retirement date | March 31, 2027 | September 30, 2027 | December 31, 2023 | January 15, 2025 |
 | Date until new resources can be created | March 31, 2025 | September 30, 2025 | Service retired | Service retired |
-| Documentation | [Azure update](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-front-door-classic-will-be-retired-on-31-march-2027/), [FAQ](classic-retirement-faq.md) | [Azure update](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/v2/Azure-CDN-Standard-from-Microsoft-classic-will-be-retired-on-30-September-2027), [FAQ](../cdn/classic-cdn-retirement-faq.md) | [FAQ](../cdn/akamai-retirement-faq.md)|[FAQ](../cdn/edgio-retirement-faq.md) |
+| Documentation | [Azure update](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-front-door-classic-will-be-retired-on-31-march-2027/), [FAQ](classic-retirement-faq.md) | [Azure update](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/v2/Azure-CDN-Standard-from-Microsoft-classic-will-be-retired-on-30-September-2027), [FAQ](../cdn/classic-cdn-retirement-faq.md) | [FAQ](/previous-versions/azure/cdn/akamai-retirement-faq?toc=/azure/frontdoor/toc.json)|[FAQ](/previous-versions/azure/cdn/edgio-retirement-faq?toc=/azure/frontdoor/toc.json) |
 | Migration | [Considerations](tier-migration.md), [Step-by-step instructions](migrate-tier.md) | [Considerations](../cdn/tier-migration.md), [Step-by-step instructions](../cdn/migrate-tier.md) | Service retired | Service retired |
 
 ## Related content
 
 - [Create an Azure Front Door](create-front-door-portal.md)
 - [Azure Front Door routing architecture](front-door-routing-architecture.md)
-- [Best practices for Front Door](best-practices.md)
+- [Best practices for Azure Front Door](best-practices.md)