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Jay Vekaria - PeerSpot reviewer
Linux System Administrator at Ergode
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Cloudflare DNS offers advanced features like caching, bot controls, and website security
Pros and Cons
  • "Even when there is a high load on our servers, Cloudflare is able to cache the data and serve it to users, ensuring they can still access the website."
  • "We have noticed multiple instances where Cloudflare falsely indicates that our servers are down, even when there is no actual load on them. This makes it challenging for us to identify the exact issue."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use Cloudflare DNS as a content delivery network (CDN) and for its free DNS service. Additionally, it provides us with web application firewall (WAF) control, caching control, and security measures against bot attacks. These features are readily available, and that's why we use Cloudflare.

What is most valuable?

The best feature, in my opinion, is the caching capability. Even when there is a high load on our servers, Cloudflare is able to cache the data and serve it to users, ensuring they can still access the website. Additionally, Cloudflare only forwards requests to our servers when new information is needed, which helps offload the server's workload. That's what I find most valuable about Cloudflare.

What needs improvement?

We have noticed multiple instances where Cloudflare falsely indicates that our servers are down, even when there is no actual load on them. This makes it challenging for us to identify the exact issue. 

Another drawback we've experienced is with IP masking. When our website is accessed through a VPN, the access logs record Cloudflare IPs, which makes it difficult to determine which IPs are impacting the website's load. These are the major challenges we face.

In future releases, one thing that would be great is if Cloudflare could provide basic WAF rules and security recommendations based on website scanning. You could submit your website, and it would generate a list of security measures that should be implemented for your website and other web applications. That would be highly valuable.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using it for the past year. The domains and servers are hosted on AWS cloud.

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January 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In my experience, Cloudflare has proven to be quite reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't fully explored the scalability aspect yet. Currently, we are using the free version and still exploring its features and functionalities. Once we've gone through everything and if we feel the need, we might consider upgrading to the pro plan or the enterprise-level functionalities.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't needed to contact them so far. Managing DNS on multiple other platforms was relatively easy for me, so I didn't require support from Cloudflare. However, I did reach out to them once regarding SSL and Cloudflare certificate-related concerns, but I'm still unsure about that aspect. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before using Cloudflare DNS, our domains were with GoDaddy, and we were managing our DNS there. 

It was my decision to move our website to a CDN, and I chose Cloudflare because it is an open-source tool that could provide the solution we needed.

How was the initial setup?

The DNS setup itself was relatively easy, but exploring and understanding the other options and features of Cloudflare was a bit challenging initially. However, after reading the documentation and doing some research, I was able to grasp how everything works, and it became much smoother to navigate and utilize those functionalities.

What about the implementation team?

In my organization, I'm the one responsible for all DNS management, and most of the DNS is managed through Cloudflare.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the free version.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend them to use Cloudflare. If someone has basic knowledge of DNS, they would be able to use Cloudflare. However, if they want to utilize advanced functionalities like caching, bot controls, and website security, they can leverage their existing knowledge and delve into those areas. It's relatively easier, but some basic research and exploration would be beneficial.

I would give it an eight because there are a few features with unclear documentation, which makes it difficult to understand them. However, overall, the majority of features are easy to grasp and navigate, so I would give Cloudflare an eight.

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Network engineer at Ufinet
Real User
Traces and manages applications and monitors traffic; easy to set up and scale, and has knowledgeable technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "What I like best about Cloudflare is that my company can use it to trace and manage applications and monitor traffic. The solution tells you if there's a spike in traffic. Cloudflare also sends you a link to check your equipment and deployment and track it through peering, so it's a valuable tool."
  • "It would be good if Cloudflare could have more servers for better traffic routing or an increase in the traffic routed. This is what I'd like to improve in Cloudflare."

What is our primary use case?

We monitor traffic on Cloudflare, and we have some applications that we download on Cloudflare. We have ten to twenty gigs per country.

Our customers are residential ISP customers with high traffic because of Google apps, Amazon network peering, and Direct TV, so we use Cloudflare for the customers. For example, we announce all traffic or customer traffic to the BDP station, and Cloudflare works by caching the content, and the servers send the content to our clients.

What is most valuable?

What I like best about Cloudflare is that my company can use it to trace and manage applications and monitor traffic. The solution tells you if there's a spike in traffic.

Cloudflare also sends you a link to check your equipment and deployment and track it through peering, so it's a valuable tool.

What needs improvement?

It would be good if Cloudflare could have more servers for better traffic routing or an increase in the traffic routed. This is what I'd like to improve in Cloudflare.

In the next release of Cloudflare, it would be good if it could give more information about applications, particularly which ones still need improvement.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cloudflare is a stable solution. At first, my company had a graphics-related problem during the POC stage, but after that, my company didn't experience any issues with Cloudflare. The Cloudflare connection is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Cloudflare is a scalable solution. The process to scale it is clear, and the Cloudflare team will contact you to check if you want to scale up.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for Cloudflare is good because the team is knowledgeable about the connection, standard, special configurations, etc. My team had no problems double-checking configurations with the Cloudflare technical support team.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't use a different solution apart from Cloudflare.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for Cloudflare is easy because you only have to connect it to your private cloud based on your requirements. I didn't experience any issues connecting the tool.

In my company, deploying Cloudflare required a lot of equipment, so it took four to five days to complete the deployment, but there was no problem with the process.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In terms of licensing costs, we don't pay for licensing for Cloudflare. We only establish communication, then for peering, Cloudflare takes care of the cross-connection in different data centers.

What other advice do I have?

My company has different computing tools in Colombia, Miami, South America, Brazil, and Chile, such as Akamai, Cloudflare, CDN, and Google Playbook.

I have hands-on experience with Akamai, Twitch, and Cloudflare.

My company is a Cloudflare customer.

Three engineers handle the deployment and maintenance of Cloudflare within my company. The NOC team monitors the cluster, and if there's any issue, my team checks the port, and the engineers review the patch to see if it's okay. If the problem remains, my team escalates to the Operations team responsible for looking into the issue more closely. Within two hours, the Operations team contacts my team about the resolution.

I'd recommend Cloudflare to other companies because it helps monitor traffic.

My rating for Cloudflare is a ten out of ten because it's a helpful tool, and I didn't find anything wrong with it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cloudflare
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cloudflare. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
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Senior Cloud Solution Architect at Integrated Technology Solution Group (ITSG)
Real User
Top 5
A tool that offers good performance that needs to improve in areas like assessment and payload
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of the solution are performance and security."
  • "Areas like how assessment, discovery, and payload are dealt with and how it all comes into your organization can be considered when trying to make suggestions to Cloudflare for improvements."

What is our primary use case?

I had one design that I did, and it was related to Cloudflare API Gateway. Anything that comes in the front-end URL was basically something to deal with Cloudflare API gateway. Based on separations required in Cloudflare DNS, I set the traffic manager and then manage areas, like configuration, DDoS, and all such related areas. The aforementioned area helps manage the traffic that comes in, the load of the application, how you want to secure access and authentication, and then have the authorization.

In Cloudflare DNS, I use all the service modules the tool offers. The use cases attached to the solution can be related to areas like performance checks, protection, security modules, scalability, and allocation frequency of checking DNS.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of the solution are performance and security.

What needs improvement?

Cloudflare DNS is still a new tool in the market. I haven't come across any issues with the product. I did two designs with the help of Apigee and Cloudflare. I had done one design with the help of Apigee, while the other one was done with Cloudflare. In a lot of organizations, when it comes to the area of design, companies don't understand the broader perspective of what I try to do, how I try to do it or try to understand the right configuration needed. Areas like how assessment, discovery, and payload are dealt with and how it all comes into your organization can be considered when trying to make suggestions to Cloudflare for improvements. The improvements to be made in the tool can be based on your thought process instead of trying to bring up something that is over-prescribed or over-allocated by others, which won't make sense. Based on the functional requirements of every user of the tool, improvements need to be made to the product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have experience with Cloudflare DNS.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Initially, I used to use Apigee. Cloudflare DNS was chosen since management made a business decision to deal with the security requirements. Cloudflare DNS has a lot of different compliances and regulations, and related areas, like authentication and authorization, are introduced in the tool. Things change constantly in the product.

How was the initial setup?

When it comes to the product's initial setup phase, I have dealt with a lot of complexity when it comes to different applications, especially with the ones where I had to deal with AWS. Users need to bundle their applications, especially when there are critical applications, which may range from platinum, gold, silver, or bronze applications. Users need a landing zone, and they need to put everything in one particular landing zone, making it one of the Year's good use cases of the product to which a lot of people don't pay much attention; because of this, I feel it is my vision related to the product. I feel the companies need to see what the product can offer rather than just using the tool straight out of the box.

In every organization, there is a security component involved, and as long as the tool meets the requirements of the security layers in an environment, the product's setup phase is somewhat straightforward, but I am sure you could do a lot of different stuff with the tool. I don't think the setup process is complex, considering just a single source when it comes to the product, which revolves around the area of security. Based on the workload, users can make the setup process complex. I don't like straightforward processes, especially when dealing with critical applications that need to be designed in a particular way and could be totally different from the other applications in an environment. I am the type of person who likes to make the setup process more complicated and unique. When it comes to the setup process, users can choose different avenues to ensure that the resource separation is consistent in the setup phase.

What other advice do I have?

Cloudflare is designed to offer API Gateway, Traffic Acceleration, and DNS. Based on your pages and URL performance, Apigee is a solution you can use, and you could tie that in either AWS, Google, or Azure, or if you are making a SaaS application going through a front-end web component and have a pass-through gateway.

Cloudflare DNS is a pretty solid product as it is not tied to any cloud environment.

I rate the overall tool around seven or eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Binuprasad Madhu - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Reliability Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5
The API enables you to build a separate environment inside the solution
Pros and Cons
  • "I get a lot of value from Cloudflare's API because it enables you to build a separate environment inside the solution. You can create a domain for performing test requests before you move to the production environment and connect various domains."
  • "Cloudflare doesn't have a reverse lookup. We can only do a DNS lookup to get the IP address from the hostname. It doesn't work if you want to look up the hostname from an IPA address."

What is our primary use case?

We use Cloudflare for our DNS service. 

How has it helped my organization?

We previously faced so many issues with our in-house DNS servers. Cloudflare provides a backup, so if you have any issues with your environment or something goes wrong with a software hostname and IP address, you can run the backup and experience zero downtime. 

What is most valuable?

I get a lot of value from Cloudflare's API because it enables you to build a separate environment inside the solution. You can create a domain for performing test requests before you move to the production environment and connect various domains.

When you build a new server, you first need to register your hostname and IP address in the cloud first. You don't need to go through the same steps every time. If you have a script that supports the API, you can run it to update the zone code and IP address.

What needs improvement?

 Cloudflare doesn't have a reverse lookup. We can only do a DNS lookup to get the IP address from the hostname. It doesn't work if you want to look up the hostname from an IPA address. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Cloudflare DNS for three months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate Cloudflare DNS seven out of 10 for stability. We haven't had issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate Cloudflare DNS seven out of 10 for scalability.

How are customer service and support?

Cloudflare support responds as quickly as possible. If you have any issues, you can get a support engineer with the best qualifications. 

How was the initial setup?

The Cloudflare setup is straightforward.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Cloudflare DNS seven out of 10. Cloudflare is my first choice if I have a chance to use it. The GUI looks pretty. It's easy to create area codes and DNS entries. You need to ensure that these features are required in your environment and negotiate a good price.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Technical Solutions Specialist-Cyber security at Liquid Telecom
Real User
A scalable and stable solution for DDoS protection
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a stable solution. I rate the stability a ten out of ten...I rate the scalability a ten out of ten."
  • "The analytics, basically the dashboard, doesn't have much to it."

What is our primary use case?

So primarily, we use Cloudflare DNS for DDoS protection.

We can patch other requests to a particular page to a certain extent. Performance-wise, there isn't a big issue with using it. So it has excellent feedback, and it's used in our public meetings. Also, we're able to manage all SIP platforms with Cloudflare DNS.

What is most valuable?

For me, the valuable feature is DDoS protection.

Some people want more checkboxes as a feature when using Cloudflare. So, it can dictate your price.

The price is not customized for a user but depends on your usage.


What needs improvement?

The analytics, basically the dashboard, doesn't have much to it. They need to launch or see something better. So, it's on the relative side.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cloudflare DNS for eight months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution. I rate the stability a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution. Almost 30 people are using the solution. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

Based on our usage and experience, the support is good, but we do not know about the client's experience.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. It takes a couple of hours.


What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing depends on the usage, but the cheapest would be around 5,000 USD a month.

What other advice do I have?

I definitely recommend others to use the solution. I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
reviewer1245303 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant CDN at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 5
Responsive technical support, and satisfactory performance
Pros and Cons
  • "Generally, I am satisfied with this product."
  • "We are a product integrator and reseller, and we would like to have a better partner relationship, similar to a channel sales relationship. Sometimes we are on our own or get diverted by Cloudflare because they have direct sales, which competes with us and makes it difficult to build a relationship with this company since we want to be an MSP or a managed service provider for the solution."

What is most valuable?

Generally, I am satisfied with this product.

What needs improvement?

We are a product integrator and reseller, and we would like to have a better partner relationship, similar to a channel sales relationship.

Sometimes we are on our own or get diverted by Cloudflare because they have direct sales, which competes with us and makes it difficult to build a relationship with this company since we want to be an MSP or a managed service provider for the solution. 

They are creating every week now and developing new products. They are on the right track.

I wouldn't say I want to add anything just yet. While I am attempting to become an MSP, I would like to have access to my clients who are using the product.

An MSP is essentially a corporation that resells a product and wants to provide support and first-level service to its consumers.

Access to the solution's dashboards is not intended for a service company. You are practically blind, and to validate a problem, you must view the customer's screen.

It's not like other systems where you can go into the back dashboard and see what the consumer sees and then alleviate the problem.

To provide help, you must first discover how to gain access to the information.

It is inconvenient.

According to what I hear, they are working on it and will get there gradually.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Cloudflare for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cloudflare is stable, however, its global performance could be better. 

They have a few hiccups here and there, but for a startup, that's to be expected.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is responsive.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's a premium model. You can start at zero and work your way up to the enterprise model, which has a very high pricing level. 

There are rivals on the market who provide the same solution at a lesser cost.

What other advice do I have?

We are partners with Cloudflare.

I would rate Cloudflare an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer2198715 - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5
A stable and scalable DNS management tool to secure websites and servers
Pros and Cons
  • "I rate its stability a ten out of ten."
  • "Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to buy Cloudflare in my country."

What is our primary use case?

I use Cloudflare to secure my own websites and servers since I use the proxy functionality to hide my website/server IP. Also, I like to use Cloudflare DNS manager. I think it's simple and easy to use.

How has it helped my organization?

I did use Cloudflare as a freelancer or for my personal projects. So I made some websites, and I recommended my freelance customers to use Cloudflare for their DNS management. Also, I did use it in one organization. It was a startup, and it was me and my friend working there, so I did recommend the startup owner to use Cloudflare because of caching functionalities that could speed up your websites and so on.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of the solution is the proxy, so I can hide my servers. So no one can scan them, especially for port scanning, since we were hacked once. I did buy a VPS server, and I was just getting started. So I started MongoDB and left the port open. Someone scanned the website and saw the open port, and since I was just starting, I didn't set a password. He managed to get in, and he locked the database and locked all the data (ransomware). When using Cloudflare, I was sure that no one knew my real server IP address.

What needs improvement?

I couldn't think of buying it since I am from Tunisia. We have really strict limitations to buying internationally. So our bank cards are available only in Tunisia. When you own a company, the bank allows you to buy things from outside of Tunisia. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to buy Cloudflare in my country. The aforementioned details can be considered for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cloudflare for two or three years. Also, I am using the free plan version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate its stability a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate its scalability a ten out of ten because I had no issues with it. Also, it was fast when updating my DNS records. So, that's why I always recommend it to my friends and organizations I deal with.

I have plans to increase the usage of the solution.

How are customer service and support?

I have never contacted Cloudflare's support team.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was really simple and user friendly.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did not evaluate other options. I found Cloudflare on a YouTube tutorial. So I tried it and liked it, and I never even thought about looking for something else.

What other advice do I have?

I was using the free plan, and mainly, I was using it for DNS management as it was simple. When I buy a new domain, I don't use the main DNS management system. Also, I use it for IP protection. I didn't have the time to really use much of the solution. As far as I know, it's all good. I did see a new feature, but I didn't really manage to get it. I didn't use it.

I would definitely recommend it to those planning to use it.

I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Madhurya Dutta - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Associate at GNRC Hospitals
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
It's the fastest solution
Pros and Cons
  • "Cloudflare DNS is widely used, and it's good for websites. If we use Cloudflare DNS and update one record, it updates in their office instantly."
  • "Cloudflare's free plan is limited to 5,000 records for their free plan. They should increase that. For example, if I create a domain called abc.com and a subdomain called a.abc.com, my record count will be two. I can make a maximum of 5,000 subdomains. However, if we use our own DNS hosted on another provider, there is no limit. Their free plan also lacks name server customization."

What is our primary use case?

Cloudflare is mostly a CDN service plus DDoS protection, but they are now offering services like cloud object storage, which AWS under S3. Cloudflare provides a cheaper alternative. They also have zero trust and load-balancing services. 

What is most valuable?

Cloudflare DNS is widely used, and it's good for websites. If we use Cloudflare DNS and update one record, it updates in their office instantly.

What needs improvement?

Cloudflare's free plan is limited to 5,000 records for their free plan. They should increase that. For example, if I create a domain called abc.com and a subdomain called a.abc.com, my record count will be two. I can make a maximum of 5,000 subdomains. However, if we use our own DNS hosted on another provider, there is no limit. Their free plan also lacks name server customization. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used Cloudflare DNS for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Last year, the service went down, but it was only 49 minutes.  

How was the initial setup?

Setting up Cloudflare DNS is easy. They have a simple web interface and also an API for advanced users. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We use the free version of CloudFlare

What other advice do I have?

I rate CloudFlare DNS nine out of 10. I would recommend it. It's the fastest DNS service. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cloudflare Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cloudflare Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.