I run a self-hosted file server that handles over 1 to 5 million files daily, and I'm looking to transition away from using control panels like cPanel or Plesk to save some costs. I want to know what would happen if I used Cloudflare to manage my DNS instead. Specifically, I'm concerned if this change might cause any issues or flag my account for suspicious activities.
I still plan to use my own servers to serve all the files; I just want to leverage Cloudflare for DNS management. Additionally, I'm moving my content management system to Statamic and I'm really enjoying working with Laravel.
4 Answers
If you're trying to move away from control panels, that’s a good approach! I like Statamic, too. Just remember that you can have both Cloudflare for DNS management and your own configuration for serving files, just don’t expect Cloudflare to manage everything for you.
Cloudflare is mainly known for its CDN and firewall services, not just for DNS management. If you switch your DNS to them, it shouldn't flag your account for suspicious activities, but it’s important to know they have specific terms of service that you must follow—for example, they don’t want you using their network for video streaming. If you're mostly serving images, scripts, and stylesheets, you should be fine. But remember, make sure you're enabling the proxy option for your domain to get the full benefits of Cloudflare.
Moving to Cloudflare could definitely help with things like DDoS protection and getting free SSL certificates, which are great bonuses. Just make sure to keep an eye on their policies, especially if you're serving large files. If you encounter limitations, you might need to disable the Cloudflare proxy for certain domains.
Just to clarify, DNS management by Cloudflare doesn’t replace the need for something like cPanel. It's a different service. The DNS management is good for improving performance and security, but it won't handle server management like those control panels do. Your concerns about potential issues are valid, but as long as you adhere to Cloudflare's guidelines, you shouldn't run into problems.

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