September 2011 Summaries

On September 27, 2011, Cloudflare celebrated its first anniversary by launching an Automatic IPv6 Gateway feature to help solve the growing pains of internet transition from IPv4 to IPv6. The company aimed to address the incompatibility between the two protocols and provide a cost-effective solution for websites to be accessible on both networks. Cloudflare's Automatic IPv6 Gateway is offered for free to all users, allowing them to choose between enabling IPv6 on all subdomains or creating specific IPv6-only subdomains. This feature helps improve internet compatibility and accessibility for a growing number of IPv6 users worldwide.

On September 25, 2011, Matthew Prince observed that in the last 30 days, CloudFlare saved its users over half a petabyte of data they would have otherwise had to transfer from their servers. This is equivalent to approximately 500 million megabytes or the data contained in one billion books. If all users were purchasing bandwidth from Amazon Web Services, this would equate to savings of more than $60,000 in bandwidth fees last month alone. On average, CloudFlare saves users about 60% of their bandwidth and 65% of requests that their origin servers would have otherwise had to handle. The company is continuously refining its caching algorithms for better performance.

Blitz.io is a self-service load and performance testing platform offered by Mu Dynamics. It appeals mostly to developers but can also be used by less technical members of the team. The platform offers a developer-friendly command line user experience with visual reports for pattern recognition. CloudFlare has partnered with Blitz.io to make this new service an integrated option for its customers. Turning on Blitz.io in the CloudFlare dashboard allows users to access and use the platform, starting with a free plan for testing up to 500 concurrent users. The integration of Blitz.io with CloudFlare can help improve website performance by identifying application limits and leveraging CloudFlare's global network for content delivery.

On September 16, 2011, Damon Billian discussed how many users were unaware of CloudFlare's API despite its documentation in the forums. He provided a "cheat sheet" for frequently used features such as Development Mode, purging cache, pulling basic statistics, reporting spam, and updating screen captures. To use these features, users need their API key, zone ID, and account email address. The specific calls and parameters can be found in the CloudFlare Client Interface API.

TechCrunch Disrupt's 2011 SF hackathon saw hundreds of hackers gathered in San Francisco to create innovative projects. Among the participants was a team from Hungary who won CloudFlare's $1,000 cash prize for their favicon game called Favris. The game, which is now available as a free CloudFlare App, transforms the favicon into a small tribute to the world's favorite block game. The United Task team, consisting of Lepi, Hagyma, and Bence, shared their experience working together on the project during an interview at the CloudFlare office.

CloudFlare, a web performance and security company launched at TechCrunch Disrupt SF in 2010, is set to have a significant presence at the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon this year. They will be providing pizza for dinner on Saturday night and giving out a $1,000 cash prize for the best CloudFlare app created during the event. The company's engineering team will also be available throughout the 24-hour competition to assist hackers in building apps using their platform. With over 100,000 websites signed up for CloudFlare, they are looking forward to adding new app developers to their marketplace.

CloudFlare has partnered with GlobalSign to support SSL connections through their network. However, due to allegations of a hacker compromising GlobalSign, the company has temporarily suspended issuing certificates and delayed new SSL service establishment with CloudFlare. The risks associated with this compromise include potential identity theft and on-path attacks. To rebuild trust, browser vendors may update the list of CAs they trust and drop trust for compromised root certificates. If GlobalSign was indeed compromised, CloudFlare will reissue new SSL certificates for all its users automatically. The incident has delayed the rollout of significant improvements to the SSL issuance process but reassures that no matter the outcome, it will continue providing secure SSL solutions.

On September 1, 2011, Cloudflare announced its selection as a 2012 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. The prestigious recognition is awarded to innovative companies expected to make significant positive impacts on business and society. Previous winners include Google, Twitter, PayPal, Admob, and Mozilla. This year's 25 winners were chosen from thousands of nominated companies in various fields such as information technology, new media, energy/environment, and life sciences/health. Among the winners, 18 are based in the United States. Cloudflare was selected for its mission to enhance performance and security for every website on the internet.