Cloudflare

How we reduced core unit boot time from hours to minutes

Jun 1, 2026Giovanni Pereira Zantedeschi, Nnamdi Ajah, Omar Sheikh-Omar
How we reduced core unit boot time from hours to minutes
SummaryAI, from the source post

This post details how Cloudflare significantly reduced core unit boot times from hours to minutes by addressing issues with UEFI firmware updates and network boot interface probing. It highlights the optimization of the boot sequence by declaring the correct network boot interface upfront, working with vendors to enable programmatic boot order control, and standardizing network interface strings. This directly contributes to more efficient and less disruptive process management and upgrades of critical infrastructure.

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