How DDoS Defense Works

Different deployment models suit different organizational needs.

Cloud-Based Protection

How It Works:

• Traffic routed through provider's global scrubbing network
• Distributed scrubbing centers near major internet exchanges
• Massive shared mitigation capacity (Tbps-level)

Deployment Methods:

• DNS Redirection: Change DNS records to point to scrubbing network
• BGP Announcement: Announce your IP prefixes through provider
• Anycast Routing: Automatic routing to nearest scrubbing center

Best For:

• Organizations without large infrastructure investments
• Global services requiring worldwide protection
• Businesses needing rapid deployment
• Protection against large volumetric attacks

Advantages:

• Immediate massive capacity
• No hardware to purchase/maintain
• Global presence
• Always up-to-date mitigation techniques
• Operational expenditure model

Considerations:

• Traffic routes through third party
• Minimal latency added (<5ms typically)
• Requires trust in provider

On-Premise Protection

How It Works:

• DDoS mitigation appliances deployed at your network edge
• Detection and mitigation performed locally
• Clean traffic delivered directly to your infrastructure

Typical Setup:

• Detection appliance monitors traffic
• Mitigation appliance filters attacks
• Inline or out-of-band deployment options

Best For:

• Organizations with compliance requirements for on-premise control
• Private networks not accessible from internet
• Large enterprises with existing security teams
• Data sovereignty requirements

Advantages:

• Complete control over mitigation
• No external traffic routing
• Meets certain compliance requirements
• Protects internal/private networks

Limitations:

• Limited by appliance capacity (typically 10-100 Gbps)
• Large volumetric attacks overwhelm
• Requires 24/7 expert staff
• High upfront capital expenditure
• Equipment lifecycle: 3-5 years

Hybrid Protection

How It Works:

• Combines on-premise and cloud-based protection
• On-premise appliances handle smaller attacks locally
• Large attacks automatically diverted to cloud scrubbing
• Best of both worlds approach

Two Types of Hybrid Deployment:

Multi-Vendor Hybrid

Architecture:

• On-premise appliances from one vendor
• Cloud scrubbing from different vendor
• Separate management platforms
• Different SOC teams or single internal team managing both

Characteristics:

• Requires integration between different systems
• Manual or automated failover configuration
• Policy synchronization challenges
• Multiple vendor relationships to manage

Challenges:

• Integration Complexity: Different platforms don't naturally work together
• Policy Inconsistency: Rules configured separately in each system
• Visibility Gaps: Attack data split across platforms
• Coordination Overhead: Team must learn multiple systems
• Finger-Pointing Risk: Vendors may blame each other during issues

When It Makes Sense:

• Existing on-premise investment you want to preserve
• Want flexibility to choose best-of-breed vendors
• Have technical team capable of managing integration

True Hybrid (Integrated Platform)

Architecture:

• On-premise and cloud protection from single integrated platform
• Unified management portal
• Single SOC team managing both deployments
• Seamless coordination between local and cloud mitigation

Key Characteristics:

Unified Management:

• Single dashboard for on-premise and cloud
• Configure policies once, apply everywhere
• Consistent rule sets across deployment types
• Centralized reporting and analytics

Seamless Transition:

• Automatic failover from local to cloud
• No manual intervention required
• Policy continuity during transition
• Clean handoff of attack data

Single SOC:

• One security operations team
• Consistent expertise across platforms
• No coordination delays
• 24/7 coverage for both deployments

Integrated Intelligence:

• Attack data shared between on-premise and cloud
• Threat intelligence flows bidirectionally
• Learning from attacks improves both platforms
• Unified attack history and analytics

True Hybrid Advantages:

Investment Protection:

• Leverage existing on-premise infrastructure
• Extend capacity with cloud, not replace hardware
• Maximize ROI on existing investments

Enhanced Capacity:

• Local mitigation for smaller, frequent attacks
• Cloud backup for large volumetric attacks
• Combined capacity exceeds either alone

Operational Simplicity:

• Single platform to learn and manage
• Consistent policies reduce errors
• Faster troubleshooting (no multi-vendor complexity)

Cost Optimization:

• Handle most attacks locally (no cloud cost)
• Pay for cloud only during large attacks
• Predictable operational costs

Flexibility:

• Choose mitigation location based on attack type
• Gradual migration path (on-premise → hybrid → full cloud)
• Adapt to changing business needs

True Hybrid Use Cases:

Communications Service Providers (CSPs):

• Local scrubbing for customer traffic
• Cloud augmentation during massive attacks
• Protect both infrastructure and downstream customers

Large Enterprises:

• On-premise for internal/private networks
• Cloud for public-facing services
• Unified management across deployment types

Financial Institutions:

• On-premise for data sovereignty compliance
• Cloud for overflow capacity
• Single security operations workflow

Multi-Site Organizations:

• On-premise at primary data centers
• Cloud protection for branch offices
• Centralized security management

Always-On vs. On-Demand Activation

Always-On Protection:

• Traffic continuously flows through scrubbing infrastructure
• Zero activation time during attacks
• Immediate mitigation
• Best for: Mission-critical services, financial services, e-commerce
• Cost: Higher baseline (flat-fee typically)

On-Demand Protection:

• Traffic diverted only during detected attacks
• Activation delay: 5-15 minutes
• Manual or automatic triggering
• Best for: Less time-sensitive services, cost-conscious organizations
• Cost: Lower baseline, potential per-incident charges

Hybrid Activation:

• Always-on for critical services (websites, APIs, DNS)
• On-demand for secondary services (internal apps, testing environments)
• Optimizes cost vs. protection trade-off

Geographic Deployment Considerations

Single Region:

• Protection near your primary infrastructure
• Lower latency for that region
• Limited capacity for global attacks

Multi-Region:

• Scrubbing centers in multiple continents
• Load distribution across regions
• Geographic redundancy
• Better global user experience

Anycast Architecture:

• Same IP address announced from multiple locations
• Automatic routing to nearest scrubbing center
• Optimal for global services
• Built-in redundancy

Choosing the Right Model

Consider:

• Attack Profile: Frequency, size, complexity of expected attacks
• Budget: Capex vs. Opex preferences
• Existing Infrastructure: On-premise investments to leverage
• Compliance: Data sovereignty, regulatory requirements
• Expertise: Availability of in-house security staff
• Time Sensitivity: Acceptable activation delay
• Global Presence: User distribution geography
• Operational Complexity: Team's ability to manage multi-vendor vs. integrated platforms

Common Patterns:

• Startups/SMBs: Cloud-based, on-demand or always-on
• Enterprises with existing infrastructure: True hybrid (integrated platform)
• Financial Services: Cloud-based always-on or true hybrid
• CSPs/ISPs: True hybrid with unified management
• Government: On-premise or private cloud (compliance), potentially true hybrid

Deployment Model Comparison:

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Key Takeaway: True hybrid deployment offers the best of both worlds—leveraging on-premise investments while providing unlimited cloud capacity, all managed through a single integrated platform. This approach is increasingly preferred by large enterprises and service providers.