Inga's UAE systems run inside the Emirates for compliance and local speed. Yet when users connect from abroad, distance still matters. A Content Delivery Network, or CDN, distributes cached copies of content to global edge servers so that requests reach the nearest node. This improves speed, stability, and security without moving the core system out of the country.
Why Performance Still Needs Help
Local hosting keeps data sovereign but not always fast for the rest of the world. Many UAE providers run on shared, virtualized infrastructure with limited international routes. A CDN solves this by caching static assets near each visitor while keeping the origin in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. The result is worldwide speed with local control.
Shielding and Security
Both Bunny and Cloudflare route traffic through reverse proxies that hide the real server. This layer blocks attacks, absorbs traffic surges, and provides a clean audit trail. For Inga clients, it means safer and more predictable exposure at the edge.
Avoiding Legal Distractions
Cloudflare operates under US jurisdiction and therefore under the CLOUD Act. Actual risk may be low, but the conversation around compliance can still create noise. Bunny, based in Slovenia within the European Union, avoids that issue entirely. Operations remain GDPR aligned, and discussions stay focused on performance, not jurisdiction.
A Practical Alternative
Bunny offers the core advantages of a CDN with transparent pricing and EU legal grounding. It delivers global speed while preserving the lawful independence that defines Inga's architecture.
Building Fluency Through Real Migration
Inga has begun identifying clients who could benefit from reduced exposure to United States operated infrastructure. These include organizations with strict compliance requirements, long term data residency commitments, or simply a preference to avoid cross jurisdictional complexity.
Where suitable, we are migrating these clients to Bunny CDN, a European alternative that delivers global reach while remaining under EU privacy law. Through these migrations, we gain direct operating experience — tuning cache policies, managing origin shielding, and observing performance across regions.
We are sharing these lessons here as part of Inga's broader commitment to lawful, efficient systems. This article will continue to grow as we document our findings and refine our best practices.
Lessons Learned from Real Deployments
Bunny's transparency makes it easy to see what is happening under the hood, but this also means a few Cloudflare conveniences are absent. Below are early observations from Inga's migrations that can help future adopters save time and confusion.
1. DNS Record Migration
When Cloudflare takes over a domain, it automatically scans and imports existing DNS records. This shortcut prevents accidental omissions during transition.
Bunny does not perform such scanning. After changing the nameserver delegation, your DNS zone starts empty. It is essential to have a full record of existing entries — including mail and TXT verification lines — before making the switch. This manual preparation step prevents downtime and authentication failures that can otherwise go unnoticed for hours.
2. CDN Acceleration and Origin Shielding
In Cloudflare, the familiar orange cloud icon indicates that traffic is routed through its proxy. In Bunny, the equivalent feature is shown as a green bunny icon labeled CDN Acceleration. When enabled, your origin server's IP becomes shielded from public exposure, protecting it from direct scans and attacks.
This also marks the point where SSL configuration becomes critical. Each accelerated domain must specify how Bunny connects to its origin.
3. SSL Handshake and the Hidden HTTP Loop
During early migrations, existing domains with ready SSL certificates worked without issue. Bunny's free edge certificate integrated seamlessly, creating a secure end to end chain.
However, when setting up new origins, a subtle behavior appeared. If Bunny's free certificate is enabled before the origin's SSL certificate exists, Bunny automatically selects Insecure (HTTP) under General ? Origin ? Origin Security.
This toggle, displayed as Secure (HTTPS) on the left and Insecure (HTTP) on the right, does not automatically change when the origin later becomes HTTPS ready. The result is a split connection: the browser communicates securely with Bunny, but Bunny fetches content over HTTP. If the origin enforces an HTTP to HTTPS redirect, the two systems enter an SSL infinite loop.
To correct this, once the origin SSL is installed, return to the Pull Zone settings and manually toggle Origin Security to Secure (HTTPS). This restores a proper encrypted path from browser to edge to origin.
4. Cache "Vary" Behavior
Cloudflare treats a resource as new whenever its query parameters differ. For example, /style.css?v=1 and /style.css?v=2 are cached separately. Many Inga products rely on this versioned query technique to control cache invalidation.
Bunny optimizes differently. To replicate Cloudflare's behavior, open your Pull Zone, go to Caching ? Vary Cache, check URL Query String, and leave the Parameter List blank. This ensures that Bunny respects query differences as distinct cache entries.
Continuing Discovery
Each migration adds new insight into how Bunny behaves under real workloads. We continue to test edge routing, origin shielding, and cache consistency across jurisdictions.
Our goal is not to create a mirror of Cloudflare but to master a fully transparent, GDPR aligned delivery layer for systems that must remain sovereign. Future sections of this article will expand as we encounter and resolve new challenges.