The process of navigating to a website, specifically mentioning the role of DNS servers and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) in the process.
When a user types in a website address, such as amazon.com, the request first goes to a DNS server which then determines which CDN to direct the request. The CDN acts as a first line of defense against Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks, and then the request goes to the real server (content server), which delivers the content.
Protection from malicious attacks can be done at the CDN or Gateway level. He gives the example of a website hosted on S3, with the CDN being backed by S3 and replicating static content all around the world for low latency.
The DNS server can determine the closest location for the user to connect and provide the appropriate IP address.