How does MC-Node's DDoS protection work?

All MC-Node servers are protected against DDoS attacks by default via the PletX network. This protection is always on, included in the price and requires no configuration on your part. In this article we explain what a DDoS attack is, how our protection works and when it makes sense to open a ticket.

What is a DDoS attack?

DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. In such an attack, many computers simultaneously send huge amounts of traffic to a single target, for example your game server. The goal is to overload the connection or the server, so real players can no longer join or experience heavy lag. Game servers are unfortunately a popular target, because an attacker can take an entire community offline with relatively little effort.

Always-on protection via the PletX network

MC-Node uses the DDoS protection of the PletX network. All incoming traffic to our servers is analysed continuously, not just after an attack has been detected. As soon as suspicious traffic is seen, the following happens:

1. The traffic to your server is automatically routed through the filtering network.
2. Attack traffic is filtered out and blocked.
3. Legitimate traffic, such as that of your players, is passed through to your server as normal.

Because the protection is always active, nothing needs to be "switched on" the moment an attack starts. There is no waiting period during which your server is unprotected.

Game-specific filtering

Generic DDoS filters do not always recognise game traffic properly, which can cause real players to be blocked by accident. The filtering we use is therefore tuned to game traffic. The filter understands how players communicate with a game server and can therefore distinguish between a real player and attack traffic posing as a player. The result: attacks are blocked, while your players can simply keep playing.

What should I do during an attack?

Nothing. The protection works fully automatically. You do not need to change any settings at panel.mc-node.net and you do not need to report the attack to us to activate the filtering. At the start of an attack there may be a very brief moment of lag or packet loss while the filter analyses the attack traffic; this normally resolves itself within a short time.

Want to check for yourself whether your server is still running? Log in at panel.mc-node.net and, on your server's page, check the Console and the graphs for CPU and network traffic.

When should I open a ticket?

In most cases a ticket is not necessary, but do open one if:

• your server remains unreachable for an extended period during an attack rather than just briefly;
• real players consistently cannot connect, even after the attack appears to have stopped;
• your server is being attacked repeatedly and you would like to discuss this with us.

You can open a ticket via mc-node.net/submitticket.php. Include the time the problems occurred and, if known, which server is affected. That way our team can look into it quickly.