I have been under the impression, with almost 0 data to back it up, that my server had been under a ddos attack several times in the last couple weeks. I watch the bandwidth usage go through the roof with only a couple people playing and everyones ping times are 200+, including mine which usually hovers around 70. So basically some weirdness.

I have been considering getting the floodguard protection, which as I understand will have no effect on game play.

At the same time, I am also concerned about the security of the box. The thought of having a naked box on the net in this day and age frankly scares the hell out of me!

So, some questions:

1. If I get a firewall, do I still need Floodguard?

2. This is part of a post Kevin made in the Gaming forum:

"The firewall option will free up cpu cycles for your game server to run. Security is all about layers, and a good firewall doesn't hurt. Our firewalls are manager by our security staff. If you have the extra bucks I'd go for it."

Can someone shed some light on that? Does it really free up cpu time? If so, how so?

3. What ports are open by default?

4. If I need additional ports open, can I email support for that? Is that a chargeable item? Or does it come with the monthly fee?

Thanks in advance,

Nate

If you get a firewall, , yes indeed I would recommend floodguard. A firewall cannot protect against this as the floodguard product can. However, I have heard that the SnapGear firewall sometimes has trouble with gaming servers, as it sees the normal flow of traffic as a flood and starts dropping packets. I haven't seen this personally, so perhaps somebody who has/had this setup can shed some light on it.

I'm not certain what the default ports are, but they are probably the main ones (ie. HTTP, POP, SMTP, etc ...). Since this would be a managed firewall, if you wanted more ports opened/closed, you could just submit a ticket and we would take care of that for you.