A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack can be devastating, overwhelming a server with tens of thousands of connection requests per second and causing performance degradation or even complete outages. To combat this, DDoS Defender implements a robust rate-limiting system, capping incoming connections at 5 requests per second and queuing up to 25 additional ones, effectively smoothing out performance in high-traffic situations. In addition, when the queue is full, it blocks all connection requests from hitting the server. These proactive measures ensure server stability even in the face of an active attack.
DDoS Defender is particularly valuable for servers lacking external DDoS protection or as a fail-safe in case such services are compromised. By adding a critical layer of defense, it reduces lag and ensures uninterrupted operation. Moreover, the plugin provides a timely warning in the server logs when more than 150 connection requests are detected in a single second, alerting administrators to a potential DDoS attack.
To achieve its goals, DDoS Defender is injected directly into the server's network pipeline, allowing it to intercept and control connection requests at the Netty layer. By doing so, it can efficiently monitor and limit connections before they reach the server, ensuring stability during heavy traffic or DDoS attacks.
