Cloudflare Enterprise on Cloudways Autonomous includes multiple built-in security and performance features that help protect your website, manage traffic, improve reliability, and control how visitors and bots interact with your application.
This article explains how the feature behaves on Cloudways Autonomous and guides you on when and why to use it.
How to Configure Cloudflare Settings?
Step #1 - Open the Autonomous Applications Section:
Log in to the Cloudways Platform.
From the left-hand navigation menu, click Autonomous.
Select My Applications.
Step #2 - Select Your Application:
From the My Applications list, locate the application where you want to modify the Cloudflare settings.
Click the application to open overview.
Step #3 - Go to Security and Cloudflare:
Click the Security from the top menu.
Now in the security tab, click on Cloudflare.
Note:
To add your domain to Cloudways Autonomous, click here to read this knowledge base article.
Step #4 - Configure Cloudflare Settings:
These settings allow you to manage important website security, traffic protection, and performance features directly from the Cloudways Autonomous platform without requiring manual configuration in Cloudflare.
Available Cloudflare Settings:
1. Under Attack Mode
Under Attack Mode adds an extra layer of protection when your website is experiencing suspicious traffic, DDoS attacks, spam traffic, or excessive bot requests.
Visitors may see a short verification page before accessing your website.
Helps block malicious traffic before it reaches your server.
Verified search engine bots such as Googlebot and Bingbot are not affected.
Recommended to enable temporarily during active attacks or unusual traffic spikes.
2. Web Application Firewall (WAF)
The Web Application Firewall protects your website from common online threats and malicious requests.
It helps block:
SQL injection attacks
Cross-site scripting (XSS)
Malicious bots
Suspicious requests targeting vulnerabilities
Additional Information:
Uses Cloudflare’s global threat intelligence network for real-time protection.
Helps improve website security without requiring manual firewall rules.
Disabling this option only turns off Cloudflare edge protection and does not disable your server firewall.
Recommended:
Keep this enabled for better website security.
3. Rate Limiting
Rate Limiting helps prevent abuse by controlling how many requests a visitor or IP address can send within a short period.
How it works:
Cloudflare monitors requests in 60-second intervals.
When an IP exceeds the allowed request threshold, Cloudflare automatically applies security challenges or temporary restrictions.
Benefits:
Protects login pages and APIs from brute-force attacks.
Reduces server load caused by bots or excessive traffic.
Helps improve website stability during traffic spikes.
Note:
Verified bots, cached content, and static assets are excluded from these limits
4. Browser Integrity Check
Browser Integrity Check helps identify and block suspicious or potentially harmful visitors.
Cloudflare checks incoming requests for:
Missing or suspicious HTTP headers
Known malicious browser signatures
Automated spam or bot behavior
Benefits:
Adds an extra security layer against harmful traffic.
Helps reduce spam and suspicious requests.
Improves website protection without affecting most legitimate users.
5. AI Crawler Blocking
AI Crawler Blocking helps prevent AI companies and automated crawlers from using your website content for AI training or data collection.
Benefits:
Helps protect your website content from unauthorized AI scraping.
Reduces unnecessary crawler traffic.
Gives more control over how your content is accessed online.
Recommended:
Enable this option when you want to restrict AI crawlers from collecting your website data.
6. SSL Cipher
SSL Cipher controls the encryption algorithms used between your visitors and Cloudflare’s edge network.
Available Options:
Compatible
Supports a wider range of browsers and older devices.
Provides balanced security and compatibility.
Recommended for most websites.
Modern
Uses newer and stronger encryption algorithms.
Provides enhanced security.
May not support older browsers or outdated devices.
Recommended:
Use Compatible unless your website specifically requires modern-only encryption standards.
Save Your Changes
After configuring your preferred Cloudflare settings, click Save Changes to apply the updates to your website.
Note:
You must have a Live domain associated with your app to use all these CF settings in autonomous.
That’s it! We hope this article was helpful.
Need Help?
If you need assistance, feel free to:
Visit the Cloudways Support Center
Chat with us: Need a Hand > Send us a Message
Or create a support ticket anytime.
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