Amazon CloudFront Reviews

My role demands me to create applications on Amazon using multiple Amazon services. This includes working on greenfield projects and migration projects. In the case of migration projects, if there are applications running on-premise, I have to design them on the cloud using compatible services like EC2, S3, CloudFront, and others.

Hosting static content or with engineering dynamic content is beneficial. CloudFront provides a common access point, manages routing to different methods, and serves as an access point plus API routing. 

With AWS, maintenance is not required as it's a service offered by AWS which maintains itself. Security concerns are manageable through AWS's security mechanisms, with additional security enhancement possible through options like WAF and NACL.

I utilize Amazon CloudFront for hosting and deploying customer web applications, which are connected to a database. It is used for website content delivery, video streaming, and API acceleration for dynamic content delivery.

Amazon CloudFront optimizes performance and reduces travel time for data requests, improving our system's efficiency. It has also helped us achieve a ten to fifteen percent reduction in data transfer cost.

Our newest AWS connection was initially in Europe and we experienced very high latency. However, bringing it to Bahrain has drastically improved performance, not just for us but for all the regional operators connected to our ISN, including entities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The ultimate users of these services are the enterprises themselves. However, we don't sell directly to them. Instead, we sell to operators, both Bahraini and regional, who then sell the services to the enterprises.

Its main advantage is that it offers something in this region that wasn't available before; previously, you had to go outside the region to get the same level of service you can now access right here in Bahrain. It's truly incredible. Our customers are more interested in accessing CDNs and peering with each other. Moreover, building this IX has significantly changed how traffic is handled. It has enabled better regional connectivity and access to content, which was our main goal. It has saved us money and time.

I used it for distributing it with the infrastructure of serverless architecture in Lambda front functions and using it for projects like in adding layers for serverless triggers and using it for building content on storage.

The UI and the functionality in AWS for CloudFront is much better as compared to Azure and GCP.

We use Amazon CloudFront to upload our content instead of dealing with hardware. We use cloud software to arrange resources based on the situation. We provide training courses and work mainly on web applications. Most resources are arranged for the front end. During major events, we leverage its scalability features to handle traffic spikes effectively.

Amazon CloudFront allows us to concentrate more on business by reducing complexity. It enables us to manage resources without having to deal with maintenance on-premises, thus saving time and financial investment.

My primary use case for Amazon CloudFront involves utilizing it as a CDN service from AWS. It is used mainly for e-commerce websites and for clients who have critical applications that require faster loading of their mobile applications and websites. 

I've worked with clients in the e-commerce industry who seek to load pages and products faster and in an efficient manner. 

Additionally, I've supported EdTech clients who use videos on their site and conduct live classes; CloudFront aids in delivering content quickly.

CloudFront has allowed organizations to enhance their applications and websites' overall performance, significantly impacting user experience and customer retention. 

It helps regain customers by ensuring that websites load quickly, preventing potential users from switching to competitors' sites. This enhanced user experience translates to higher customer trust and retention, assisting in achieving business goals.

The front end of most of our websites is by CloudFront. It works as a CDN. More than the CDN and the performance, we use Amazon CloudFront for its security. It frontends most of our sites, so we don't have to expose it directly.

Amazon CloudFront is a robust solution. We can use the solution to block certain countries. Since it frontends our S3, we don't directly expose or make public all the media files. We route it through Amazon CloudFront. The tool integrates with AWS's WAF (Web Application Firewall), which adds a lot of L7 security for us.

Those are the primary things that we look at. We can use the solution to host things on EC2 instances or S3 buckets. You can choose what to cache and what not to cache. That feature allows you to work with policies, and we use it heavily. It's very easy to integrate Amazon CloudFront with other AWS services. The solution is very easy to use.

If you're using AWS entirely, it's smooth sailing. But with a mixed stack, things get complicated.

With a mixed stack, things become a problem. With GCP and Azure, the DNS setup gets tricky when using CloudFront. With AWS, it's smooth and streamlined. Their GUI provides all the details and is very easy to navigate. 

The challenge starts to occur because AWS gives you only one DNS endpoint for the entire service. This single endpoint covers your CDN, AWS server, and domain migration needs.

If you use any other solution like GCP or Azure, you face additional configuration changes and account management. You need separate accounts for AWS CloudFront and your chosen platform, like GCP. This means securing and managing two separate accounts – an extra responsibility.

With Cloudflare, you just need one account and pay for it. Managing the complex DNS details isn't your burden. However, on the flip side, CloudFront might require more hands-on management on your part.