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Cache Purge

Last updated: 2019-09-26 12:08:54

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Cache purge includes URL purge, directory purge, and URL prefetch. URL purge means to purge the cache on a file-by-file basis. Directory purge means to purge all the files under a directory. URL prefetch means to prefetch resources on a file-by-file basis.
Purge vs. prefetch:

  • Once a resource is purged, its cache on all the CDN nodes across the entire network will be deleted. When a user requests arrives at a node, the node will pull the corresponding resource from the origin server, return it to the user, and cache it to the node so as to ensure that the user can obtain the latest resource.
  • When a resource is prefetched, it will be cached in advance to all the CDN nodes across the entire network. When a user request arrives at a node, the resource can be directly obtained on the node.

After you update a resource on the origin server, if you want the user to access the updated resource directly, you can use the URL purge or directory purge feature. If you want CDN to proactively cache the resource from the origin server to the CDN nodes, you can use the URL prefetch feature.

The update mechanism for resources cached on the CDN nodes is generally controlled by cache expiration time. Configuring a reasonable cache expiration time policy can effectively reduce origin-pull rate. For more information, see Cache Expiration Configuration.

URL Purge

  • A maximum of 10,000 URLs can be purged each day, and a maximum of 1,000 URLs can be submitted for each purge task. It takes about 5 minutes for the purge to take effect.
  • It takes about 5 minutes for URL purge to take effect. If the cache validity period set for a file is less than 5 minutes, it is recommended to wait for update upon timeout instead of using the purge tool.
  • Purge is supported only for URLs that contain English characters. If a URL contains any non-English characters, it should be escaped first before a purge task can be submitted for it.

Log in to the CDN Console, click Purge Cache on the left sidebar to enter the cache purge page, and select Purge URL.

Enter the object URL to be purged in the text box (you need to enter the prefix "http://" or "https://"; one entry per row); for example:

http://www.abc.com/test.html
http://www.def.com/image.png

Then, click Submit and Purge. After the task is submitted, you can view the remaining available URL purges for today in the bottom-left corner of the page.

Directory Purge

  • A maximum of 100 directories can be purged each day, and a maximum of 20 URL directories can be submitted for each purge task. It takes about 5 minutes for the purge to take effect.
  • It takes about 5 minutes for directory purge to take effect. If the cache validity period set for a directory is less than 5 minutes, it is recommended to wait for update upon timeout instead of using the purge tool.

Log in to the CDN Console, click Purge Cache on the left sidebar to enter the cache purge page, and select Purge Directory, which is currently available in two ways:

  • Purge updated resources: Purge only modified resources by comparing the Last-Modify time.
  • Pure all resources: Purge all resources no matter whether they are changed. If you perform this operation, all resources in the directory on all the CDN nodes across the entire network will be deleted, leading to more origin-pulls and higher pressure on the origin server. Please be cautious.


Enter the directory URL to be purged (you need to enter the prefix "http://" or "https://"; one entry per row); for example:

http://www.abc.com/test/
http://www.def.com/image/

Then, click Submit and Purge. After the task is submitted, you can view the remaining available directory purges for today in the bottom-left corner of the page.

URL Prefetch

  • URL prefetch is available only to key accounts of the CDN service for the time being.
  • If the resource has been cached on CDN nodes and has not expired, it will not be updated to the latest version. If you need to update the resource on all nodes to the latest version, you can purge it before prefetch.
  • A maximum of 1,000 URLs can be prefetched each day, and a maximum of 20 URLs can be submitted for each prefetch task. It takes about 5 to 30 minutes for the prefetch to take effect, depending on the file size;

Log in to the CDN Console, click Purge Cache on the left sidebar to enter the cache purge page, and select Prefetch URL.

Enter the object URL to be prefetched (you need to enter the prefix "http://" or "https://"; one entry per row); for example:

http://www.abc.com/test.html
http://www.def.com/image.png

Then, click Submit and Prefetch. After the task is submitted, you can view the remaining available URL prefetches for today in the bottom-left corner of the page.

Operation Record

You can view the record of URL purges, directory purges, and URL prefetches in the specified period of time.
Log in to the CDN Console, go to the Purge Cache page, and select Operation Record. Select a date and query type, enter a keyword, and click Query. The operations will be displayed in the table below: