I host several projects on MediaTemple DV plans for the stability, flexibility, and top-notch support. (I’d rather not be troubleshooting server issues for clients at 3AM.) You can certainly use CloudFlare without MediaTemple hosting, they’ve just made it a one-step add-on service that you’d have to be a drooling idiot to mess up. I warily enabled the service for a static site, which involved signing up for a free account (email address, password) and enabling the service in MediaTemple’s control panel. A CNAME record was automatically created in the DNS settings, and that’s it.
I visited said site and it had an immediately-noticable zing. Excitedly, I added the service to workingconcept.com to see how CloudFlare would cripple the ExpressionEngine setup. I was sure it’d fail and I’d have to revert, but I tried it anyway. I was blown away: CloudFlare seemed to have absolutely no effect but to dramatically speed up page delivery. Below is my non-scientific evaluation…
just-ping.com results, before CloudFlare (MediaTemple DV4.0, Virginia datacenter)
| Location | min. rrt | avg. rrt | max. rrt | IP |
| Singapore, Singapore | 262.2 | 270.5 | 286.5 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Amsterdam2, Netherlands | 84.7 | 85.1 | 87.5 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Florida, U.S.A. | 25.9 | 26.0 | 26.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Amsterdam3, Netherlands | 84.4 | 85.2 | 90.5 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Hong Kong, China | 233.3 | 235.8 | 237.3 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Sydney, Australia | 233.8 | 234.0 | 234.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Munchen, Germany | 96.4 | 96.5 | 96.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Cologne, Germany | 86.6 | 86.7 | 86.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| New York, U.S.A. | 10.0 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Amsterdam1, Netherlands | 88.6 | 88.6 | 88.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Stockholm, Sweden | 118.6 | 118.7 | 118.8 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Santa Clara, U.S.A. | 88.2 | 88.7 | 89.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Vancouver, Canada | 87.7 | 87.9 | 88.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| London, United Kingdom | 78.5 | 79.0 | 79.3 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Madrid, Spain | 132.1 | 150.2 | 167.5 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Padova, Italy | 107.3 | 107.7 | 109.0 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Austin, U.S.A. | 58.1 | 58.3 | 58.6 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | 85.6 | 85.7 | 85.9 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Paris, France | 98.8 | 99.0 | 99.1 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Melbourne, Australia | 254.3 | 255.1 | 256.4 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Shanghai, China | 208.2 | 208.5 | 208.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Copenhagen, Denmark | 108.1 | 108.2 | 108.4 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Lille, France | 82.4 | 86.8 | 93.1 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Zurich, Switzerland | 108.5 | 108.7 | 109.1 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Mumbai, India | 192.6 | 203.0 | 227.3 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Chicago, U.S.A. | 32.3 | 32.4 | 32.9 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Nagano, Japan | 177.3 | 177.3 | 177.5 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Haifa, Israel | 149.6 | 150.9 | 153.3 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Auckland, New Zealand | 200.2 | 205.7 | 218.4 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Antwerp, Belgium | 92.4 | 92.5 | 92.8 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Groningen, Netherlands | 87.7 | 88.0 | 88.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Moscow, Russia | 136.4 | 136.6 | 136.9 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Dublin, Ireland | 97.6 | 97.6 | 97.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Oslo, Norway | 112.6 | 115.2 | 136.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Kharkov, Ukraine | 156.0 | 156.4 | 160.0 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Manchester, United Kingdom | 80.1 | 80.4 | 82.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Vilnius, Lithuania | 119.1 | 119.3 | 119.6 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Bucharest, Romania | 132.8 | 133.0 | 133.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 253.4 | 253.7 | 254.0 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | 283.9 | 284.7 | 290.6 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Cape Town, South Africa | 226.1 | 226.2 | 226.3 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Glasgow, United Kingdom | 85.4 | 86.8 | 97.6 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Lisbon, Portugal | 117.6 | 117.7 | 117.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Chicago, U.S.A. | 31.3 | 31.4 | 31.5 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Dallas, U.S.A. | 35.5 | 35.7 | 36.1 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Buenos Aires, Argentina | 156.6 | 156.9 | 157.2 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Istanbul, Turkey | 137.5 | 137.7 | 138.1 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Gdansk, Poland | 114.5 | 116.2 | 128.9 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Beijing, China | 295.4 | 307.4 | 314.7 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Belgrade, Serbia | 113.8 | 118.4 | 137.8 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Toronto, Canada | 22.5 | 22.8 | 23.1 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Novosibirsk, Russia | 190.3 | 191.3 | 192.1 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Athens, Greece | 135.3 | 135.7 | 136.9 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Frankfurt, Germany | 92.5 | 93.4 | 94.9 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Sofia, Bulgaria | 118.4 | 118.8 | 119.4 | 72.10.32.198 |
| Budapest, Hungary | 109.8 | 114.0 | 127.4 | 72.10.32.198 |
just-ping.com results, with CloudFlare
| Location | min. rrt | avg. rrt | max. rrt | IP |
| Singapore, Singapore | 176.3 | 186.3 | 193.1 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Amsterdam2, Netherlands | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Florida, U.S.A. | 26.7 | 27.0 | 27.5 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Amsterdam3, Netherlands | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Hong Kong, China | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Sydney, Australia | 157.2 | 157.6 | 158.4 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Munchen, Germany | 19.1 | 19.3 | 20.0 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Cologne, Germany | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 173.245.60.113 |
| New York, U.S.A. | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Amsterdam1, Netherlands | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Stockholm, Sweden | 24.6 | 25.0 | 25.5 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Santa Clara, U.S.A. | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Vancouver, Canada | 75.4 | 76.3 | 77.8 | 173.245.60.113 |
| London, United Kingdom | 10.3 | 10.7 | 11.0 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Madrid, Spain | 34.6 | 38.4 | 49.1 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Padova, Italy | 26.1 | 32.1 | 57.8 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Austin, U.S.A. | 29.7 | 29.9 | 30.0 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Paris, France | 90.5 | 91.0 | 91.9 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Melbourne, Australia | 123.9 | 124.8 | 126.3 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Shanghai, China | 267.0 | 273.3 | 278.1 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Copenhagen, Denmark | 15.6 | 16.5 | 17.3 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Lille, France | 17.2 | 26.8 | 33.1 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Zurich, Switzerland | 14.5 | 14.8 | 15.2 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Mumbai, India | 76.4 | 77.0 | 77.7 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Chicago, U.S.A. | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Nagano, Japan | 6.0 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Haifa, Israel | 91.1 | 96.7 | 100.4 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Auckland, New Zealand | 149.9 | 150.1 | 150.4 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Antwerp, Belgium | 11.0 | 11.3 | 11.8 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Groningen, Netherlands | 4.4 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Moscow, Russia | 46.4 | 46.7 | 47.1 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Dublin, Ireland | 18.7 | 18.9 | 19.3 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Oslo, Norway | 32.0 | 32.2 | 32.6 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Kharkov, Ukraine | 104.0 | 104.4 | 108.0 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Manchester, United Kingdom | 13.2 | 13.8 | 14.4 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Vilnius, Lithuania | 36.5 | 37.4 | 42.1 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Bucharest, Romania | 35.2 | 36.1 | 41.9 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 195.6 | 196.1 | 197.1 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | 48.6 | 48.9 | 49.3 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Cape Town, South Africa | 231.4 | 231.7 | 232.1 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Glasgow, United Kingdom | 20.7 | 20.9 | 21.3 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Lisbon, Portugal | 58.8 | 59.1 | 59.5 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Chicago, U.S.A. | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Dallas, U.S.A. | 1.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Buenos Aires, Argentina | 152.6 | 153.2 | 156.3 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Istanbul, Turkey | 38.8 | 39.2 | 39.7 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Gdansk, Poland | 42.0 | 42.2 | 42.7 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Beijing, China | 377.7 | 393.9 | 406.0 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Belgrade, Serbia | 32.8 | 39.9 | 63.2 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Toronto, Canada | 13.8 | 13.9 | 14.2 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Novosibirsk, Russia | 99.4 | 99.9 | 100.4 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Athens, Greece | 66.5 | 67.1 | 70.8 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Frankfurt, Germany | 13.6 | 14.3 | 15.3 | 173.245.60.113 |
| Sofia, Bulgaria | 39.1 | 39.2 | 39.4 | 173.245.60.40 |
| Budapest, Hungary | 29.8 | 32.7 | 50.5 | 173.245.60.40 |
As you can see, ping times were easily improved across the board. Remember that this is less than an hour after enabling the service.
Pingdom Full Page Test
I use Pingdom to monitor my own website and client web apps, and they’ve got all kinds of great tools. Here I used the Full Page Test to compare page load time. This test loads an entire page and basically gives you an overview of the process: how long it takes, what assets are loaded, the order in which things stack up.
The result: page load from 4.7 seconds to 1.8 seconds.
I did nothing but switch on the service. I’d say that’s a significant plus for a product that’s totally free.
Conclusion
Yesterday I could have cared less about CloudFlare, but today I suddenly can’t live without it. I’m thoroughly impressed and hope this post is helpful to somebody. I don’t work for CloudFlare or get any sort of incentive for writing this post, but I would certainly take incentives if they were offered. I’ve already been experimenting with Amazon S3 as a CDN, and Rackspace CloudFiles – both offered inexpensive performance gains with minimal setup, but CloudFiles is another thing entirely! The pro and enterprise upgrades offer increased protection and fine-tuning along with a variety of genuinely-enticing features. As of this moment I’m still using the free account, which is serving pages much faster and allegedly adding a layer of protection from various types of attacks. Once they fix that placeholder logo of theirs I’ll be proudly recommending it to everybody I can find!