Edge Security Acceleration (ESA) provides several compression methods to compress data. Compressed data shortens loading time and saves bandwidth.
Compression methods
ESA provides three compression methods: Gzip, Brotli, and Zstd. Each method focuses on different aspects such as compression efficiency, decompression speed, and compatibility, making them suitable for different scenarios.
Method | Speed | Compatibility | Scenarios |
Gzip | Fast compression and medium decompression | High | Common web services |
Brotli | Slow compression and high-speed decompression | Medium | Static resource optimization |
Zstd | Very fast compression and decompression | Low | Real-time streaming data processing |
Before you begin
Gzip compression is compatible with most browsers. However, Brotli and Zstd may not work with some older browser versions. Check browser compatibility.
Compression changes the MD5 hash of the file. If the origin file is configured with MD5 validation, disable compression for it.
Compression won't take effect if:
Files on the origin server are smaller than 1 MB or larger than 10 MB.
Responses from origins carry either the
Content-Encoding:orcache-control: no-transformheader.The client's request header
Accept-Encoding:doesn't supportgzip,br, orzstd.
Supported file formats
Files in the following formats can be compressed:
text/xml
text/plain
text/css
application/javascript
application/x-javascript
application/rss+xml
text/javascript
image/tiff
image/svg+xml
application/json
application/xml
Image files in formats such as PNG, JPG, and JPEG are already compressed. Use Image transformations to further reduce their size.
Enable compression
In the ESA console, choose Websites and click the name of the website you want to manage.
In the left-side navigation pane, go to Speed and Network > Optimize > Speed Optimization.
Turn on the Gzip, Brotli or Zstd switch. When multiple methods are enabled, only one takes effect. The priority is Zstd > Brotli > Gzip.