Auto Trader UK

Why Auto Trader UK Chose Cloudflare For Its Cloud Migration

對於任何與 IT 部門長期合作的企業來說，這是一個常見的挑戰：如何從目前基於資料中心的實體硬體基礎結構過渡到在雲端實施和維護的新一代基礎結構。

Auto Trader — the largest automobile classifieds service in the United Kingdom and Ireland — recently decided it was time to make that crucial migration. The company’s site offers an array of services, including key information on vehicle valuation and seller reputation. It also hosts over 3,000 custom websites for local dealerships across the UK, who rely on Auto Trader to maintain their online presence.

總而言之，Auto Trader 平台每月有超過 5500 萬的瀏覽量。除了數千家經銷商依賴其平台外，每年完成的交易超過 1000 萬筆，收入達 3.3 億英鎊 — 此次向雲端遷移是一項風險極高的任務，沒有一點出錯的餘地。

The Challenge

在研究將這些關鍵任務服務切換到 Cloudflare 時，Auto Trader 的技術堆疊中包含多種不同的技術：PowerDNS (内部部署 DNS)、Verisign DNS (關鍵外部網域)、Arbor (DDoS 防禦) 以及 F5 (負載平衡/WAF)。

採用多種不同的產品存在弊端，包括缺少 API 存取權限或缺乏自動化支援，因此需要變通方法和重複性工作。這種複雜性的加劇使得任務比要求的難度更大 — Auto Trader 必須為每個特定的使用案例購置單獨的產品。

Auto Trader 系統工程師 Mark Bell 補充道：「我們希望有一種方案，能將所有 DNS、效能與安全性需求結合在一個統一的介面中。」

The Cloudflare Difference

藉由 Cloudflare，這些產品全部整合在同一服務中，可以透過單個整合式儀表板進行管理。這意味著，可以節省大量的開銷 (無需再維護任何硬體)，同時也能帶來更易於導覽的使用者體驗。

Cloudflare 是 Auto Trader 考量的幾個選擇之一，Bell 說道：「我們相信盡力而為，為此，著眼於市場上現有的各種產品。」經過廣泛的研究與內部討論，一個贏家脫穎而出。

”There was only one decision to make, really: it was to go with Cloudflare, because you’re so far ahead of the competition in regards to the capabilities and the features that you offer. And also, the support — with things like live chat, it’s been very effective and really helpful.”

- Mark Bell Systems Engineer, Auto Trader Auto Trader was also drawn to Cloudflare’s flexibility, with extensive API support for automation tasks and the [Cloudflare Workers](https://www.cloudflare.com/products/cloudflare-workers/) platform to build out custom functionality. It also was keen to take advantage of the extensive cost savings afforded by the switch.“A key consideration was cost, and we believe Cloudflare are very competitive for the service that they offer in comparison with other providers. Another attraction was the interconnect program between Google Cloud and Cloudflare — which offers up to 75% savings on egress costs.” - Mark Bell Systems Engineer, Auto Trader 藉由雲端解決方案帶來的便利，Auto Trader 的效能得到了顯著改善：之前 DNS 提供者 Verisign 的平均延遲時間為 20-25 毫秒，而使用 Cloudflare，延遲減少到僅 10-13 毫秒，改進了 50％。

Security has also been a vital component to Auto Trader's migration, which leverages Cloudflare's WAF — powered by the collective intelligence of millions of Internet properties on Cloudflare's network — to defend against hostile actors.

從內部部署基礎結構遷移到 Cloudflare 後，Auto Trader 提高了其網站效能，阻止了敵對方，也加強了團隊的營運效率。這對任何公司來説都是一個巨大勝利，Cloudflare 以參與這次雲端遷移而感到自豪。

“Performance and Security are imperative to our company, especially going forward as we look to utilize more public cloud based services. Cloudflare’s WAF and built in zone security level has enhanced our security and detected and blocked malicious activity.

I have no doubt in my mind that Cloudflare is the best out there at the moment in what they do.” - Mark Bell Systems Engineer, Auto Trader *** ** * ** ***

You can learn more about Cloudflare's suite of security and performance products here.