Cloudflare says Pingora consistent-hashing optimizations freed over 100TB of RAM across its global server fleet

Cloudflare detailed how small changes to the pingora-ketama consistent hashing library used by Pingora Backend Router significantly reduced memory usage. The optimization reclaimed more than 100TB of RAM globally, following another 100TB saved recently by its DNS team.

At Cloudflare’s scale, low-level algorithm and data-structure improvements can translate into infrastructure savings that would be enormous for most companies. The work highlights a broader trend: hyperscale operators are increasingly treating efficiency engineering as a major lever for capacity, cost control, and sustainability.