Introduction

Akamai image manager fails when image transformation policy is invalid or source image is corrupted. This guide provides step-by-step diagnosis and resolution with specific commands and configuration examples.

Symptoms

Typical symptoms and error messages when this issue occurs:

bash
CDN error: content not delivered
Check CDN configuration and origin server
Verify cache rules and SSL settings

Observable indicators: - CDN returns errors to end users - Content not being cached as expected - SSL or security configuration issues

Common Causes

  1. 1.Akamai issues are commonly caused by:
  2. 2.Property activation pending or hostname not mapped
  3. 3.Cache key configuration not matching requirements
  4. 4.Origin server unreachable or firewall blocking IPs
  5. 5.Bot manager or WAF rules blocking legitimate traffic

Step-by-Step Fix

Step 1: Check Current State

bash
curl -I -H "Pragma: akamai-x-cache-on" https://example.com/path

Step 2: Identify Root Cause

bash
akamai property list

Step 3: Apply Primary Fix

bash
# Primary configuration fix
Cache-Control: public, max-age=86400
CDN-Cache-Control: max-age=31536000

Apply this configuration in the CDN dashboard or via API.

Step 4: Apply Alternative Fix (If Needed)

bash
# Alternative fix: adjust TTL
Edge-Cache-TTL: 3600
Stale-While-Revalidate: 86400

Step 5: Verify the Fix

After applying the fix, verify with:

bash
curl -I -H "Pragma: akamai-x-cache-on" https://example.com/test | grep -E "X-Cache|Akamai"

Expected output should show proper caching headers and successful content delivery.

Common Pitfalls

  • Cache TTL too short causing origin overload
  • SSL certificate not covering all hostnames
  • Origin server blocking CDN IP ranges
  • Purge request not propagated to all edges

Best Practices

  • Configure appropriate cache TTLs
  • Use origin shielding when possible
  • Monitor CDN analytics for issues
  • Implement proper error handling
  • CDN Cache Not Working
  • CDN SSL Certificate Error
  • CDN Origin Unreachable
  • CDN Performance Degradation