Cloudflare unveils updates for R2 storage & Workers developer platform
In a flurry of announcements at Developer Week, Cloudflare has unveiled a host of updates and features for R2, its globally distributed object storage, and Workers, a serverless and secure developer platform. These enhancements further Cloudflare's aim of continuous improvements in zero-egress object storage, delivering enhanced reliability and cost-effective storage capabilities.
For R2, three substantial additions were announced. R2 now has Event Notifications that can automatically trigger Workers when changes in R2 bucket data occur. The company has also launched 'Super Slurper' for Google Cloud Storage, enabling easy data transfer from Google Cloud to Cloudflare R2. Lastly, defraying costs, developers will now be able to store data inexpensively if that data is not accessed frequently.
According to Cloudflare, these enhancements enable developers to build applications and workflows influenced by changing data. Applications using the Event Notifications function would see messages sent to a queue each time the data changes. These messages convey notifications of changes to a consumer Worker, which will subsequently dictate any following action that requires execution.
Super Slurper, a migration tool developed to facilitate one-time comprehensive data transfer is now compatible with Google Cloud Storage. Initially developed for AWS S3, the service has been used by thousands of developers to migrate petabytes of data from AWS S3 to R2. Now, Google Cloud Storage users can migrate to Cloudflare R2 to avail themselves of the company's zero egress fees.
R2's Infrequent Access feature is an advantageous feature in the new updates. It offers a chance to pay less for infrequent data storage, while preserving performance and longevity. This feature provides an effective solution for storing long-tail user-generated content and logs.
Meanwhile, significant additions for Cloudflare's Workers include Gradual Deployments, Stack Traces, and Rate Limiting API, to help developers maintain high-performing, stable, and reliable applications despite varying traffic levels.
The Gradual Deployments feature allows developers to introduce code adjustments safely in stages, managing associated risk. For rapidly identifying and correcting coding errors, Stack Traces provides a useful debugging tool. The Rate Limiting API acts to limit the quantity of requests permissible within a specified time.
In terms of metrics, the incoming WebSocket messages to Durable Objects will now be billed at the equivalent of 1/20th of a request, essentially making this feature more cost-effective.
With continual updates and features, Cloudflare continues to strive for simplicity and integrated functionality, aiming to ensure its Developer Platform is "production ready, without production complexity".
