# Cloudflare Content Delivery Network (CDN)

> Find out how the Cloudflare CDN speeds up and protects your website, and how to get started with it.

Source: https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/add-ons/cloudflare/cloudflare-content-delivery-network-cdn/

Cloudflare is a content delivery network (CDN) that helps improve your website’s performance and security.

### What is the Cloudflare CDN?

A CDN is a distributed network of servers that provides several benefits:

- **Cached content:** By storing copies of your site’s content, Cloudflare improves page load speeds, reduces bandwidth usage, and lowers CPU usage on your server.
- **High availability:** With servers worldwide, if one server has an issue, Cloudflare automatically routes traffic to another server.
- **Increased security:** Cloudflare blocks threats before they reach your site and provides protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

### How the Cloudflare CDN Works

1. When you activate Cloudflare, your site becomes part of Cloudflare’s global network. Traffic is routed through Cloudflare data centers worldwide. You can view a map of Cloudflare’s data centers [here](https://www.cloudflare.com/network-map).
2. Cloudflare stores static content (CSS, JavaScript, images) on its servers and delivers it from the server nearest to your visitors. This reduces page load times.
3. If a server is busy, traffic is automatically rerouted to the next nearest server.
4. Cloudflare blocks malicious traffic and abusive bots before they reach your server, saving bandwidth and enhancing security.

> **Note:**
Cloudflare works for both static and dynamic websites. Sites that stream video or audio directly from their origin server are not ideal for Cloudflare, but embedded videos from platforms like YouTube or Vimeo are compatible.

### Getting Started with Cloudflare

To use Cloudflare, create an account at cloudflare.com and update your domain’s nameservers. See [Activating Cloudflare](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/add-ons/cloudflare/activating-cloudflare/).

> **Note:**
Cloudflare is a separate service from Cloudflare, Inc. Ruachost doesn't sell or manage Cloudflare. You sign up and manage it directly at [cloudflare.com](https://www.cloudflare.com/), and the free plan suits most websites. Your Ruachost hosting works with it.

For detailed instructions, refer to the official Cloudflare setup guide.

### More Information

For additional information about Cloudflare, visit [Cloudflare.com](https://www.cloudflare.com/).