Self-Hosted Cloudflare Alternatives
Hello,
In my past work, I found that there isn't a good alternative to Cloudflare (Cf) in the market. Cf has developed into a very powerful platform that integrates many services; it is undeniable that it does a great job, and I also enjoy using its services.
In the past, we encountered clients who wanted to self-host a platform as powerful as Cf (mainly for application security and performance).
Although we have strong software engineering capabilities (DNS, CDN, WAF, DDoS, Zero Trust, etc., we have built them all), we know that the strength of Cf lies in its network. To build such a platform, strong software needs to be combined with robust network infrastructure.
Cf was built 15 years ago when the infrastructure was not mature. Nowadays, there is a wealth of cloud infrastructure and numerous VPS providers, and I believe network capabilities have evolved to modern standards.
We see a lot of potential in this market; currently, no one can challenge Cf's position. Through interviews with many clients and partners, we found that there is no alternative to Cf on the market, especially when users deeply utilize application security and performance.
So, I have an idea: can I collaborate with cloud/VPS providers, where the providers are responsible for offering robust infrastructure, while our team excels at building the corresponding software stack? This way, clients can achieve an alternative to Cf based on my software platform combined with the infrastructure of VPS/cloud providers.
The software platform should allow for very simple deployment and management of edge nodes, and it should extend many functions through plugins, such as GeoDNS, Layer 4-7 proxy, CDN, WAF, rate limiting, Bot Management, Secure Tunnel, AI & API gateway, Clientless Zero Trust Access, observability, and more.
The edge infrastructure is responsible for providing a reliable, high-speed network and offering unmetered DDoS protection similar to Cloudflare.
This way, I can create a niche market: customers can purchase rich and cost-effective edge nodes, or opt for a pay-as-you-go model, with pricing determined by the provider. The provider can also refer customers to our platform to offer services similar to Cf. This is a win-win situation.
I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts and suggestions. Thank you.
There are companies competing with Cloudflare. For example AWS, but also Akamai. There are some smaller players as well.
Running these Cloudflare services yourself isn't as simple as deploying a 'app' on couple of VPS servers. To run a CDN or services on the Edge near customers, you need to have a very good understanding of internet routing (BGP) and networking in general. If you have that in place, then you can start thinking about building services on your network.
I'm curious, what's making your clients think that self-hosting is more secure and performant than CF? I struggle to see the scenarios.
I guess it's mostly compliance related.
Data Privacy and Compliance
Right, makes sense. I think you need to focus on one feature on Cloudflare to make this work. And it won't necessarily be network that's the advantage of that feature. For example, the WAF is the wide range of capabilities and sensible defaults.
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