F5 Networks recently acquired Defense.net, which has led it to alter its services, now offering cloud-based, on-site and hybrid deployment methods. F5 Silverline Protection is well equipped for sophisticated and volumetric DDoS attacks. In terms of scrubbing capacity, F5 Networks exceeds the capacity of Imperva, offering 2TB of bandwidth dedicated to filtering, cleaning and removing infected traffic. F5 directly partners with three Tier 1 carriers to guarantee a size of bandwidth, which is not shared or based on peering arrangements as in the case of other cloud-based services.
Part of F5 Silverline’s offerings is a cloud-based protection service, as is its scrubbing technologies. This is partly what allows it to have such a large capacity, making it possible to protect businesses from those attacks that exceed hundreds of gigabits per second. It also mitigates against sophisticated, more complex DDoS attacks by offering Layer 3-L7 DDoS attack protection against all attack vectors. The kind of comprehensive, multi-layered attack analysis and mitigation that Silverline’s cloud scrubbing technologies can offer cannot be achieved with other scrubbing services, which only have a single-vendor technology architecture.
F5 also offers on-premises DDoS protection alongside the Silverline cloud-based application services platform. The two services can be implemented independently of one another, or together as a hybrid solution to offer the most comprehensive DDoS protection service.
F5’s on-premises solutions use Hybrid Signaling, which alerts the F5 staff to security issues and reroutes traffic for cloud scrubbing. When volumetric attacks are identified on premises, Hybrid Signaling sends real-time communication to the F5 Security Operations Center, enabling rapid mitigation. BIG-IP ASM can also be leveraged in conjunction with Hybrid Signaling to determine bad actors, and block the IP address in the cloud.
The service does not include unlimited mitigation, however, you can select from two different service options: whether you want its protection ‘always on’ or ‘always available’ i.e. on demand, depending on the needs of your enterprise. The Always On subscription level continuously processes all traffic directed at your company through the Silverline cloud-scrubbing services in real time, returning only legitimate traffic to your site. The Always Available option runs on standby and can be initiated when your company experiences an attack. It is pre-configured to your systems, so it can quickly move into action when or if required.
F5’s support staff is available around the clock if needed. Its services also include access to the F5 customer portal, which allows users to set up and manage SOC services, configure proxy and routing, and receive a high level of visibility and reporting of attack mitigation as it happens. This information includes the size and type of attack, IP origin, attack vectors, mitigation process, and a transcript of all communications.