Adaptive Rate Limiting for Server Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for mitigating DoS and DDoS attacks are ineffective as they rely on filtering out traffic from single IP addresses, which does not account for distributed attacks originating from multiple IP addresses, leading to server overload.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for configuring adaptive rate limits based on server health statistics, where server health data and current response transmission rates are used to determine an adaptive rate limit, ensuring that network data packets are transmitted at a rate that does not exceed server capacity, thereby protecting against DoS/DDoS attacks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional IP address filtering is used to mitigate DoS attacks, then traffic from single malicious IP addresses can be blocked, but distributed attacks from multiple IP addresses cannot be effectively mitigated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the attack mitigation approach by dividing traffic analysis into multiple dimensions: not just IP addresses but also geographic location, device characteristics, behavior patterns, and temporal patterns. This segmentation allows the system to identify distributed attack patterns that originate from multiple IP addresses by analyzing aggregated patterns across these segmented dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal mitigation system that handles both traditional single-IP DoS attacks and distributed DDoS attacks through a single adaptive rate limiting mechanism. The system universally applies multi-factor analysis (geolocation, device fingerprinting, behavior analysis) to all incoming traffic regardless of attack type, making the mitigation approach versatile against different attack patterns.
2Reliability
If rate limiting is applied to protect server capacity, then server overload can be prevented, but legitimate traffic may be inadvertently restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic rate limiting where the threshold is not fixed but adapts in real-time based on server health metrics (CPU utilization, memory usage, response time) and observed traffic patterns. The system continuously monitors server capacity and dynamically adjusts the rate limit threshold, allowing higher throughput when server capacity is available and reducing limits when capacity is constrained, thereby protecting against overload while minimizing impact on legitimate traffic.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback loops where server performance metrics and traffic analysis results are continuously fed back into the rate limiting decision engine. The feedback mechanism uses server health data and attack detection outcomes to adjust rate limiting parameters, ensuring that legitimate traffic patterns are recognized and allowed through while malicious traffic is restricted, thus maintaining server protection without unnecessarily blocking productive traffic.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, non-transitory computer readable medium and device that assist with configuring adaptive rate limit based on server health and statistics includes obtaining server health data and a current response transmission rate associated with one of the plurality of servers. An adaptive rate limit is determined based on the obtained server health data and the current response transmission rate. An actual rate and the determined adaptive rate limit is compared to determine when the actual rate of transmission is greater than the determined adaptive rate limit. A plurality of network data packets is transmitted at the determined adaptive rate limit when the actual rate of transmission is determined to be greater than the determined adaptive rate limit.