Cloudflare Cache Reserve Walkthrough and Demo

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the video presented by Humir Ahmed?

The video focuses on Cloudflare's Cash Reserve feature, including a brief discussion on the basics of Cloudflare CDN and a demo of Cash Reserve.

How can users onboard onto Cloudflare CDN?

Users can onboard by clicking 'add site' on the dashboard, entering their domain, and Cloudflare will automatically import DNS records. Users are then given Cloudflare name servers to change their authoritative DNS.

What is the alternative to changing the primary authoritative DNS for using Cloudflare CDN?

Users can still use Cloudflare CDN without changing their primary authoritative DNS by doing a partial CNAME setup.

What happens when an HTTP request matches a cachable file extension in Cloudflare CDN?

If the request matches a cachable extension, Cloudflare serves the resource from cache if present. Otherwise, it fetches from the origin to fill the cache and then serves the response to the client.

What is Cloudflare's Tiered Cache and how does it function?

Cloudflare's Tiered Cache divides its global data centers into upper and lower tiers. Only upper tiers request content from the origin, distributing it to lower tiers, thereby improving bandwidth efficiency and reducing origin load.

What triggers a cache miss in Cloudflare CDN?

A cache miss occurs due to intentional actions like cache TTL expiration or content purging, or unintentional actions like purging based on the Least Recently Used (LRU) algorithm.

What is Cloudflare's Cash Reserve, and how does it enhance cache hit ratio?

Cloudflare's Cash Reserve stores all cachable files in persistent object storage buckets. It acts as an ultimate upper tier, checking storage buckets before going to the origin during a cache miss, thereby increasing cache hit ratio.

How does Cash Reserve impact traffic flow and origin server load?

Cash Reserve minimizes the need to pull content from the origin by checking storage buckets during a cache miss, reducing unnecessary egress fees and decreasing load on the origin server.

How did the Cash Reserve feature affect the cache hit ratio in the demo?

After enabling Cash Reserve, the cache hit ratio improved significantly, reaching over 90% from a previous 80%, moving closer to a 100% cache hit ratio.

How can users manage and monitor their use of Cloudflare's Cash Reserve?

Users can view data stored in Cash Reserve, aggregate storage used, and read/write operations from the Cloudflare dashboard. They can also pause Cash Reserve, purge cache content, and create page rules for specific caching behaviors.