One of the most common questions people ask about our CDN is this: Does QUIC.cloud support HTTP/2?
The answer is YES! And not only do we support HTTP/2, but we support HTTP/3 as well.
HTTP, short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is a key element in the movement of traffic around the web. All web servers, CDNs, and browsers must support some version of HTTP in order to function. QUIC.cloud CDN supports all three versions that are in common use today: HTTP/3, HTTP/2, and HTTP/1.1.
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3
HTTP/1.1 was introduced in 1997 and was the dominant protocol for nearly twenty years, but usage of HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 has been growing steadily since their introduction in 2015 and 2022, respectively.
Each protocol addresses shortcomings in HTTP/1.1, and while HTTP/3 is more recent than HTTP/2, there are still reasons for browsers and servers to support both of the newer HTTP versions. So what are the differences between the two protocols?
The biggest difference is in the transport layer. HTTP/2 travels over TCP like HTTP/1.1 does. HTTP/3 travels over QUIC, which is built on top of UDP.
Additionally, HTTP/3 boasts improvements like these:
- It fully solves the problem of head-of-line blocking (where a single lost packet stalls all other data on the connection)
- It has encryption built in
- It supports connection migration
- And it takes just one round trip (1-RTT) to set up a connection. In fact, returning visitors can achieve 0-RTT.
HTTP/3 is particularly impactful for your mobile users. Packet loss is more common with mobile or lossy connections, and HTTP/3 comes to the rescue in those scenarios.
Both HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 are supported on the client side in all major browsers.
On the server side, HTTP/2 support is nearly universal, while HTTP/3 is getting there. Most popular CDNs were quick to offer HTTP/3, but origin web servers have been slower to catch up.
LiteSpeed’s Implementations
QUIC.cloud is powered by the LiteSpeed team, and our HTTP/3 history is worth noting:
- LiteSpeed Web Server was the first production web server to support HTTP/3, even before it was fully standardized!
- We developed the open-source lsquic, a QUIC and HTTP/3 library that powers all of our server products and QUIC.cloud’s CDN infrastructure, too.
- We have more experience with this than most. QUIC.cloud benefits from years of real-world battle-tested QUIC and HTTP/3 refinement.
- In fact, we were an active participant in the IETF working group that shaped QUIC and HTTP/3 standards. We helped write the specification!
End-to-End HTTP/3 Support
QUIC.cloud is the only CDN to offer end-to-end HTTP/3 connection support, from client browser to backend server. This is possible for any setup that includes a LiteSpeed server at the origin.
End-to-end HTTP/3 means the benefits of the protocol are preserved across the entire request path, not just the client-to-CDN leg. And if HTTP/3 connections are not supported by either the origin server or the client, QUIC.cloud seamlessly connects via the next-best supported HTTP version.
Conclusion
So, does QUIC.cloud support HTTP/2? It sure does, but it also supports HTTP/3. And QUIC.cloud isn’t just supporting these protocols. We helped build the standards! And we shipped production-ready implementations before most of the industry.
QUIC.cloud and LiteSpeed are on the leading edge of protocol support. This means your visitors get the benefits of new technology sooner, with no effort on your part.
Give QUIC.cloud a try today!
