Akamai-GRN
The HTTP Akamai-GRN response header is an unofficial HTTP header containing a unique request identifier assigned by Akamai's edge network. GRN stands for Global Request Number.
Usage
Every request processed by Akamai's CDN receives a GRN value at the edge. The Akamai-GRN header carries this identifier back in the response, giving operators a way to trace a specific request through Akamai's infrastructure.
The primary use case is support ticket correlation. When troubleshooting delivery issues, providing the GRN value to Akamai support allows their team to locate the exact request in internal logs. The value also appears in Akamai's log delivery services, making server-side log correlation possible without depending on application-level tracing.
Values
Request identifier
The value is a dot-separated string containing four
components. The first segment is a version or type
indicator (typically 0). The second is a hex-encoded
edge server identifier. The third is a Unix timestamp
marking when the edge processed the request. The fourth
is a hex request sequence number.
The entire value is opaque from the client's perspective. Parsing the individual components is not necessary for debugging purposes. The full string is the correlation token.
Example
A response from a website served through Akamai's edge
network includes the GRN as a dot-separated string. The
hex segment 08a7cb17 identifies the edge server, the
timestamp 1771389547 records when the request was
handled, and c1005fe is the request sequence number.
Akamai-GRN: 0.08a7cb17.1771389547.c1005fe
A different request to another Akamai-served property produces a distinct GRN. The longer fourth segment in this value reflects a higher sequence number on a different edge server.
Akamai-GRN: 0.1d6b3017.1764840456.2c1914e3
When contacting Akamai support or searching log delivery exports, the full GRN string is the value to provide.
Takeaway
The Akamai-GRN header is an Akamai-specific request identifier attached to every response passing through the Akamai CDN. The GRN value enables request-level tracing and support ticket correlation across Akamai's edge infrastructure.