--- name: azure-ddos-protection description: "Guidance for Azure DDoS Protection — Network Protection (per-VNet) and IP Protection (per public IP) tiers built on the same always-on Microsoft platform. Covers tier selection vs free Basic infrastructure protection, scope (VNet vs single IP), traffic profiling and mitigation policy auto-tuning, attack analytics and metrics, attack alerts to Sentinel, DDoS Rapid Response engagement, integration with Azure WAF and Front Door, cost-protection guarantee, mitigation reports for compliance, and per-region capacity planning. WHEN: Azure DDoS Protection, DDoS Network Protection, DDoS IP Protection, layer 3/4 DDoS, attack analytics Azure, DDoS rapid response, cost protection DDoS, DDoS metrics, mitigation report, simulate DDoS Azure. DO NOT USE for layer 7 / app-layer attack mitigation alone (use azure-waf), Azure Firewall design (use azure-firewall), or hybrid network DDoS via on-prem appliances." license: MIT metadata: author: Microsoft version: "0.1.0" --- # Azure DDoS Protection Azure DDoS Protection sits on the Microsoft global network and absorbs **layer 3/4 volumetric and protocol attacks** before they reach your workloads. The free **Infrastructure Protection** layer protects Azure as a platform; the paid **DDoS Protection** plans give you dedicated, profile-tuned mitigation, attack analytics, post-incident reports, cost protection, and Rapid Response support for your resources. ## When to use Public-facing workloads with a non-trivial cost-of-downtime: e-commerce, regulated financial APIs, multiplayer gaming, public-sector services, internet-facing AI APIs, streaming, and any campaign exposed to politically or commercially motivated DDoS. **Do not use this skill** for application-layer (HTTP) attack mitigation alone (`azure-waf`), Azure Firewall design (`azure-firewall`), or third-party DDoS appliance patterns. ## Tier selection | Tier | Scope | Best for | |---|---|---| | **Infrastructure Protection** | Free, platform-level, no SLA, no analytics | Default for every workload | | **DDoS Network Protection** | Per VNet, all public IPs in scope | Multi-IP workloads, large estates | | **DDoS IP Protection** | Per public IP, granular | Small estates, cost-conscious, specific high-risk IP | Pricing model differs: Network Protection is a flat fee per plan covering many resources; IP Protection is per-IP. Estate size flips the economics — model both before choosing. ## Approach 1. **Decide tier per workload.** - 50+ public IPs across multiple VNets → Network Protection on the relevant VNets. - Specific internet-facing app on a single Standard public IP → IP Protection. - Mixed → both, scoped appropriately. 2. **Enable on the VNet (Network Protection)** at deployment time. The platform begins **traffic profiling** immediately; it learns normal patterns over ~7 days and auto-tunes the per-IP mitigation policy. Mitigation accuracy improves the longer the profile runs. 3. **Static thresholds are not a thing**, by design. Mitigation is adaptive. Don't architect on the assumption of a fixed Mbps cap. 4. **Configure alerts.** DDoS metrics and alerts are first-class: - "Under DDoS attack or not" boolean per public IP. - Inbound packets dropped by DDoS Protection. - Inbound TCP/UDP packets to be triggered for DDoS. Wire to Sentinel via Log Analytics + activity-log alerts. 5. **Simulate before incident.** BreakingPoint Cloud and Red Button are Microsoft- approved simulation partners. Simulate quarterly on non-prod public IPs to validate mitigation engagement and runbook execution. 6. **Attack analytics + post-incident reports.** During and after an attack, the product produces a **mitigation report** with attack vectors, traffic volume, top sources, and mitigation actions — useful evidence for board/regulator communications. 7. **DDoS Rapid Response (DRR).** Plan on Network Protection includes engagement with Microsoft's DDoS response team during active attacks. Pre-stage: - DRR contact info in your IR runbook. - Customer support contract type that allows DRR (usually Premier/Unified or Pro Direct) — verify. - Designated owner who is authorized to engage Microsoft. 8. **Cost protection.** A successful DDoS attack can balloon scale-out costs (autoscaled App Service, additional bandwidth, CDN egress). Network Protection includes service- credit cost protection — file the claim post-incident with the mitigation report. 9. **Combine with WAF and Front Door.** DDoS Protection covers L3/L4. L7 attacks (HTTP floods, slow loris, business-logic abuse) need WAF on Front Door / Application Gateway in front of your workload. Architect both. ## Guardrails - **Infrastructure Protection (free) is not nothing, but is not enough for high-value public workloads.** No SLA, no analytics, no cost protection. - **Don't enable Network Protection on a VNet with no internet-facing public IP.** No effect, full price. - **Mitigation needs profile time.** A brand-new public IP enabled minutes before an attack benefits less than one with 7+ days of baseline. - **WAF and DDoS are complementary, not substitutes.** L7 attacks bypass L3/L4 mitigation entirely. - **Test in non-prod, never live customer endpoints.** Simulation partners only on approved IPs in approved windows. - **Standard public IP only.** Basic public IPs aren't supported for IP Protection (and Basic SKU is being retired). - **CDN-fronted workloads** are partially shielded by the CDN's own DDoS posture; still consider DDoS Protection on the origin. - **Don't use Azure DDoS as your DR plan.** Mitigation reduces impact; it does not guarantee zero impact. ## Common anti-patterns - **"Free Infrastructure Protection is enough"** — until the first targeted attack, then no analytics, no Rapid Response, no cost protection, no audit evidence. - **"IP Protection on 200 IPs"** — bill larger than Network Protection plan would have been. Model the math. - **"Activated DDoS Protection during the attack"** — profile is empty; less effective. Always pre-enable. - **"Skipped simulation, never tested runbook"** — first real engagement is fumbled. - **"DRR not pre-arranged"** — incident response wastes 60 minutes finding the right Microsoft contract path. - **"Architected without WAF in front"** — L7 attacks succeed through L3/L4 mitigation. - **"Customer support tier doesn't permit DRR"** — surprise during incident. ## Example prompts - `Plan DDoS Protection coverage for a 6-region public-API estate with 80 public IPs.` - `Compare Network vs IP Protection cost for a tenant with 25 public IPs in 3 VNets.` - `Build the DDoS attack runbook including DRR engagement steps and stakeholder comms templates.` - `Quarterly DDoS simulation with BreakingPoint Cloud — scope, success criteria, rollback.` - `Wire DDoS metrics + alerts to Sentinel with detections for sustained mitigation events.` - `Architect Front Door + WAF + DDoS Network Protection for a regulated e-commerce workload.` - `File the cost protection claim after a 14-hour mitigated attack — what evidence and process.` ## Microsoft Learn - Overview: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/ddos-protection-overview - Tier comparison: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/ddos-protection-sku-comparison - Enable Network Protection: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/manage-ddos-protection - Enable IP Protection: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/manage-ddos-protection - Metrics and alerts: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/diagnostic-logging - Simulation testing: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/test-through-simulations - Rapid Response: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/ddos-rapid-response - Cost protection / SLA: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/ddos-protection-overview - Reference architectures: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ddos-protection/ddos-protection-reference-architectures