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DDoS protection
A DDoS attack floods a site or server with traffic until it slows down or stops answering real visitors. Here is what an attack looks like, the signs to watch for, and how sites defend themselves.
5 topics, a response plan and a checklist
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack sends traffic from many sources at once, aiming to use up a site or server's bandwidth, connections or resources so real visitors cannot get through.
"Distributed" means the traffic comes from many machines, often a botnet of infected devices, rather than a single attacker.
Key points
Volumetric attacks simply generate huge amounts of traffic to fill up the available bandwidth. Protocol attacks misuse networking rules, such as the TCP handshake, to tie up server or network resources.
Application-layer attacks target a specific part of a site, such as a login or search form, with requests that look legitimate but are sent far too fast.
Key points
A sudden, unexplained jump in traffic, a server that becomes slow or unresponsive, and specific pages or forms timing out are common signs. So is traffic that looks unusual, such as many requests from one source or region in a short time.
Not every slowdown is an attack; check your traffic and server logs before assuming the worst.
Key points
A CDN or reverse proxy, such as Cloudflare, sits in front of a site and can absorb and filter traffic before it reaches your server; Cloudoora domains can connect to Cloudflare for this. Rate limiting caps how many requests a single visitor can make, and caching serves common pages without hitting your server each time.
Being able to scale resources, or spread traffic across more than one server, also helps a site stay up under a larger load.
Key points
Decide in advance who to contact and what to check if your site slows down or goes offline, rather than figuring it out during the attack. Keep your host's support channel and your DNS or CDN account details somewhere you can reach quickly.
A short written plan also means less panic, because you are following steps you already agreed on.
Key points
During an attack
Look at your traffic and server logs for an unusual pattern, not just a normal surge, such as a marketing campaign or a news mention.
Open a live chat with your hosting provider's support team and describe what you are seeing, including when it started.
Cloudoora's live chat is open 24/7.
If your domain is connected to a CDN or reverse proxy such as Cloudflare, make sure its protection settings are switched on.
If the site is down for a while, a status page or social media update reduces the number of people trying to reload it repeatedly.
Before it happens
Do
It can filter traffic before it reaches your server.
Cap how many requests one visitor can send in a short time.
Serve common pages without hitting the server each time.
Who to contact, and what to check, decided in advance.
Avoid
A CDN or reverse proxy takes time to connect; do it before you need it.
A small, odd spike can be an early sign of a bigger attack.
Know how you would scale or fail over if load jumps.
Keep access to the accounts that control your traffic tightly held.
Related guides
FAQ
Cloudoora does not run its own DDoS-mitigation service. Cloudoora domains can connect to a provider such as Cloudflare, which adds a CDN or reverse-proxy layer that absorbs and filters traffic in front of your site.
It varies widely, from minutes to days, depending on the attacker and the defences in place.
Yes. Attacks are often automated and do not only target large or well-known sites.
Check your server and traffic logs to see whether it looks like an attack, then contact your host's support team.
No single measure guarantees protection. A CDN or reverse proxy, rate limiting and caching each reduce the risk, and work better combined.
Chat with our support team, online 24/7.
Talk to our support team about what you are seeing.
