Learn how to configure Argo through the Cloudflare UI.
Configuring Argo through the UI
Argo's smart routing algorithm routes traffic across the fastest network paths available and maintains open, secure connections to eliminate latency imposed by connection-setup. Additionally, Argo tiered caching can improve cache hit rates.
Enable Argo through the UI
- From your dashboard, click Traffic.
- Click the "Off" toggle in the Argo card.
- If you don't already have a billing profile, fill out the billing information. If you have a billing profile, confirm the information .
- When the toggle is on, Cloudflare is using Argo to intelligently route your traffic. Next Steps: How can I see if Argo improved my page speed?
Argo Tiered Cache
Tiered caching subdivides Cloudflare’s network of global data centers into a hierarchy of upper tiers and lower tiers. In order to control bandwidth and the number of connections between an origin and Cloudflare, only upper tiers are permitted to request content from an origin and must propagate that information to the lower tiers. Cloudflare data centers first talk to each other to find content before asking the origin.
Cloudflare offers three different tiered cache topologies.
- Smart Tiered Cache: Cloudflare dynamically finds the single best – from a latency perspective – upper-tier data center for each origin. Analytics information regarding which data centers were selected, and information about the custom topology, are generated in the Cache > Tiered Cache section of the dashboard.
- Generic Global Tiered Cache (Enterprise Customers Only): Enterprise Customers can select a tiered cache topology to fit their needs. Generic Global Topology uses a static collection of Cloudflare’s best-connected data centers across the globe to serve as upper tiers.
- Custom Tiered Cache (Enterprise Customers Only): Custom topology is used if an Enterprise customer has specific needs not met by the topologies above. Custom Tiered Cache Topology can be enabled by talking with your Cloudflare Account Team.
Caveats:
- If you use Smart Tiered Cache and your origin uses an Anycast TCP-terminated network, Smart Tiered Cache cannot dynamically select the best upper tier. In this situation, you default to the Generic Global Tiered Cache Topology.
- Using Smart Tiered Cache may decrease performance improvements from Argo Smart routing between the origin and upper-tier. This occurs due to a shorter travel distance and fewer gained optimizations.