Custom domain: Setup a CDN or reverse proxy

Owned by Brent Meriwether (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Sept 30, 2021
2 min read

The following article discusses how to use a CDN or Reverse Proxy as part of setting up your App for Custom Domain usage. This is the first step in using a Custom Domain and it is a required step. Do not proceed to either the following steps until this step is complete and working.

 

Verify if your Domain provider offers CDN or Reverse Proxy services

Setting up a subdomain pointing at your myDevices app URL would normally result in an SSL warning when viewed by your customers. We must solve this issue to secure traffic between your App and your users.

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There are two options available to solve this, and which you choose will guide your next steps:

  1. Use a CDN

  2. Use a reverse proxy

Option 1: Use a CDN

There are a number of CDN providers out there that offer SSL termination.

  • Cloudflare (Recommended)

  • AWS Cloudfront

  • Rackspace

We recommend using Cloudflare as it offers free SSL and other services. If you choose this route, we even have a guide showing you how to set things up using Cloudflare.

Option 2: Use a reverse proxy

Continue to use your current provider, but deploy a Load Balancer such as Nginx or HAProxy with your own certificate and proxy requests to your myDevices white label domain. This option requires more technical skill, but also offers flexibility.

We assume that if you choose this advanced route you will have the expertise to finish this portion on your own. After verifying things are working you can then proceed with the next steps of Completing your setup in the Console and Notifying Us.

What if I’m not sure?

If your provider does not support CDN or reverse proxy services, or if you are not able to configure deploy and configure a reverse proxy on your own, the easiest way to proceed is to utilize a free Cloudflare account.

We have a guide showing you how to accomplish this, using GoDaddy and Cloudflare as the examples.