Using Cloudflare with Your Akash Deployment

Cloudflare can help improve the security, performance, and reliability of your Akash deployment. This guide will walk you through:

• Setting up a custom domain with Cloudflare
• Enabling Cloudflare proxy (CDN & security features)
• Setting up HTTPS (SSL/TLS)

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• A deployed Akash application (follow the Akash deployment guide if you don’t have one).
• A domain added to Cloudflare.
• The latest Akash CLI installed .

Step 1: Get Your Akash Deployment Hostname

Run the following command to fetch the lease details of your deployment:

provider-services lease-status --dseq <DSEQ> --from <WALLET_NAME> --provider <PROVIDER_ADDRESS>

Replace:

• <DSEQ> with your deployment sequence number.
• <WALLET_NAME> with your Akash wallet name.
• <PROVIDER_ADDRESS> with the provider’s address.

Look for the “uris” field in the output. You should see a hostname like:

"uris": ["abcdef.provider.akash.network"]

This is the default provider-assigned hostname.

Step 2: Configure Cloudflare DNS

1. Log into Cloudflare and select your domain.

2. Go to the DNS settings.

3. Add a CNAME record to point your custom domain to your Akash deployment:

   • Type: CNAME
   • Name: app (or @ for root domain)
   • Target: abcdef.provider.akash.network (from Step 1)
   • Proxy status: Enabled (Orange cloud)

4. Click Save.

Step 3: Configure SSL/TLS

To ensure your Akash deployment is served over HTTPS:

1. Go to SSL/TLS settings in Cloudflare.
2. Set SSL mode to “Full” (recommended) or “Full (strict)” if you have a valid certificate on your Akash deployment.
3. Optionally, enable “Always Use HTTPS” to automatically redirect HTTP traffic.

Step 4: Optimize Performance & Security

• Enable Cloudflare Caching: Under the Caching section, enable caching to improve performance.
• Enable DDoS Protection: Cloudflare’s security features help mitigate attacks.
• Use Page Rules: You can add rules to customize caching, redirects, or security settings for your app.

Step 5: Test Your Setup

After a few minutes, try accessing your app via your custom domain (app.yourdomain.com). It should now be served through Cloudflare with SSL and caching enabled.

Troubleshooting

• DNS Not Resolving? Wait for Cloudflare’s DNS propagation (can take a few minutes).
• SSL Errors? Ensure SSL is set to Full (not Flexible) in Cloudflare.
• Incorrect Proxy Behavior? Disable the Proxy (Orange cloud) temporarily to diagnose issues.

Conclusion

By using Cloudflare, you enhance your Akash deployment with better performance, security, and free SSL. You can further explore Cloudflare’s WAF, bot protection, and load balancing to optimize your setup.