Load balancing origin server requests

A content delivery network to distribute requests to a plurality of origin servers, the content delivery network comprising:

• a plurality of cache nodes that cache content between end user devices and the plurality of origin servers;
• a first cache node in the plurality of cache nodes configured to:
• obtain distribution information indicative of how each cache node in the plurality of cache nodes has distributed content requests to the origin servers;
• maintain a load balancing profile for the plurality of origin servers based on the distribution information;
• and
• distribute a content request to an origin server in the plurality of origin servers based at least in part on the load balancing profile for the plurality of origin servers.

A method of operating a cache node in a content delivery network, the content delivery network comprising a plurality of cache nodes that cache content between end user devices and a plurality of origin servers, the method comprising:

• tracking a distribution of content requests sent by the plurality of cache nodes in the content delivery network to the plurality of origin servers;
• receiving a request from an end user device for content that is not yet cached by the cache node;
• selecting an origin server in the plurality of origin servers to retrieve the requested content based at least in part on the distribution of content requests;
• and
• sending a content request to the selected origin server.