People who build websites or run online businesses hear a lot of so‑called “voodoo terms”:

Anycast, BGP, CN2, Direct Connect, Backhaul Optimization, Accelerated Routes…

For many, these words just create one big question mark:

“What do these actually have to do with how fast a page loads for the user? Why do some swear by Anycast while others say CN2 is the real deal? Am I just being sold buzzwords?”

I’ve worked in network security and CDN for over a decade, helping companies troubleshoot weird issues like “fast in the South, slow in the North,” “quick domestically, laggy overseas,” and “crashing during evening peak hours.”

If you ask me:

Do these networking concepts actually determine speed?

My answer is clear: Yes—and the difference can be massive.

But you need to understand the “underlying logic.” Otherwise, you’ll just be confused by the jargon in ads.

Here, I’ll explain in plain English so you’ll walk away knowing: why some sites load instantly while others always stall, and why CDN pricing varies so wildly.

1. When Your Site Slows Down, It’s Usually the “Road” That’s the Problem

Let’s start with the bottom line:

About 70% of website speed isn’t determined by the server—it’s determined by the “road.”

Think of your website as a destination. A user visiting is like driving to your house.

• Server performance = How nice your house is
• CDN = The highway on‑ramp
• BGP = The city’s main roads
• CN2 / Premium routes = The express lanes
• Anycast = Your house has an entrance in every country/region
• Normal routes = Back streets, detours, traffic lights
• Return path, cross‑province routing = Taking another lap, waiting extra minutes

In other words:

Users aren’t slow to reach your site—the traffic is taking a detour.

Once you get this, the rest becomes much clearer.

2. What is BGP? Why is It Called the “Basic Version of a Good Route”?

You often hear providers say: “We’re on a BGP node—speed is stable.”

So what is BGP?

Here’s a straightforward analogy:

BGP = A central intersection where multiple roads meet.

For example:

• Telecom
• Unicom
• Mobile
• Educational Network
• Broadcast & TV Network
• Smaller ISPs

If a data center has real BGP multi‑carrier networking, it means:

✔ Users from different carriers reach the same node without detours ✔ Traffic takes the shortest nearby path ✔ More stable lines, less packet loss ✔ No “fast on Mobile, slow on Unicom” situations

Cheap CDNs or low‑end data centers usually offer:

• A patchwork of Telecom + Mobile
• Separate Unicom lines
• Or “fake BGP”—really just multiple unbalanced exits

That’s why you run into the most common problem:

Mobile users are fine, but Unicom users suffer.

Why? Because Unicom traffic has to cross the country to reach a node in a Telecom city, adding 50ms or even 100+ ms of latency.

This is the root cause of “small sites with good servers being slow in certain provinces.”

3. So What’s CN2? Why is It Called “Expensive, But Seriously Stable”?

If BGP is the “city’s main road,” then CN2 is the high‑speed rail track.

CN2 is China Telecom’s premium network, built for:

• International direct connections
• High‑speed cross‑province transfers
• Enterprise‑grade services
• Sensitive scenarios like gaming/finance

Its biggest advantages:

1) Fewer detours

Example: Visiting from Guangdong to Beijing:

• Normal Telecom lines might hop through 2–3 extra nodes
• CN2 goes straight there on the fast lane

2) Stable cross‑province latency

Normal lines have many hops between provinces and clog during evening peaks. CN2 acts more like a dedicated line—stable even during rush hour.

3) Faster overseas access

If your site has overseas users, you’ll notice:

• Normal lines: 200–350ms latency
• CN2 GIA: around 120–200ms

The real‑world feel? Overseas users won’t experience your site like a “choppy slideshow.”

4. What is Anycast? Why Does Its Marketing Sound So Mystical?

Lots of CDNs boast:

“We use Anycast—always the fastest route.”

But Anycast’s principle is simple:

Multiple nodes worldwide share the same IP, and users automatically connect to the nearest one.

If you run a global site or cross‑region service, Anycast makes a qualitative difference.

For example:

• A user in the US
• A user in Japan
• A user in Malaysia
• A user in Guangdong, China

They aren’t hitting the “same node.”

Instead:

• US user → US node
• Japan user → Japan node
• China user → China node

This means:

✔ Lowest latency ✔ Shortest route ✔ No cross‑country detours ✔ Peak traffic doesn’t affect other regions

One IP with global entry points—that’s the power of Anycast.

That’s also why global CDNs and DDoS‑protection CDNs rely on it.

❗ What many don’t realize:

Anycast isn’t just about having nodes—it depends on underlying routing, backbone networks, and BGP announcement capability.

Cheap CDNs that claim to be Anycast often just “share an IP across a few servers”—far from real global acceleration.

True global Anycast requires:

• Extensive global backbone nodes
• Strong relationships with carriers
• Large IP address blocks
• Precise route announcements
• High bandwidth reserves
• Top‑tier routing engineers

This is the core reason “high‑end CDNs cost more.”

5. Why Does the Internet Get So Slow at Night?

You’ve seen this happen:

• Site is fast during the day
• Suddenly sluggish after 8 PM
• Returns to normal after 11 PM

This is classic:

“Congested routes + cross‑province detours + smaller ISPs getting slammed” all at once.

Evening peak hours mean:

• BGP node bandwidth gets squeezed
• Mobile/Unicom intra‑province forwarding is under pressure
• Cross‑province links are congested
• Normal routes get deprioritized

CN2 / dedicated / premium lines stand out because:

They resist peak‑hour congestion and stay stable.

That’s why high‑end CDNs stay fast at night.

6. Plain‑English Summary:

What’s the real relationship between these networking terms and speed?

Think of it like this:

In a nutshell:

Different routes determine “how fast users reach you.” CDN determines “how fast your content reaches users.”

Combine both = User experience.

7. After Upgrading Routes, the Latency Difference Is Staggering

Here’s real‑world data from a client (anonymized):

Same user, accessing the same site from Guangzhou.

Cross‑province is even more dramatic:

Overseas is clearer:

These aren’t minor gaps—they’re night‑and‑day differences in real experience.

Turning a 3‑second page load into 0.6 seconds—that’s what the right route does.

8. So What Should I Actually Choose?

If your users are mainly in Mainland China:

Top choices:

1. BGP Multi‑Carrier
2. CN2 / Direct Carrier Connect
3. Add Anycast (domestic version) if possible

Ideal for:

• Corporate websites
• Platform‑based services
• Systems with login/APIs
• Businesses with peak‑hour traffic spikes

If you serve global users:

Strongly recommend:

1. Global Anycast
2. Nodes covering Asia, Americas, Europe
3. Paired with CN2 / Optimized Routes back to China

Great for:

• Cross‑border businesses
• Live streaming
• File downloads
• Global SaaS
• Gaming

If you just run a simple static site:

A cheap CDN + normal lines might be enough.

Don’t burn money blindly—understanding your needs always beats throwing budget at the problem.

9. Final Takeaway:

How fast your site loads depends on which “road” you give your users.

• BGP = Fewer detours
• CN2 = High‑speed direct lane
• Anycast = Nearest global entry point
• Direct routes = No evening‑peak jams
• High‑quality nodes = Stable, no jitter
• Optimized routing = No pointless cross‑province hops

These aren’t “voodoo terms.” They literally decide your site’s loading speed.

Especially when serving national or global users, the gap is huge.

If your site loads slowly, it’s probably not your server’s fault—it’s this:

You’re making users take a “bad road.”

Change the road, and your site speeds up instantly. That’s how networking really works.