API and Microservices DDoS Protection

Modern architectures based on APIs and microservices present unique DDoS challenges. Distributed systems require coordinated protection strategies addressing both individual services and overall system resilience. API-specific attack patterns demand specialized defenses beyond traditional web application protection.

API gateway implementation provides centralized protection for microservices architectures. Solutions like Kong, Amazon API Gateway, or Azure API Management include built-in DDoS defenses. Configure rate limiting per API key, IP address, or custom attributes. Implement quota management to prevent resource exhaustion. Use authentication and authorization to restrict access. Gateways provide essential protection while maintaining service visibility.

Circuit breaker patterns prevent cascading failures during attacks. Libraries like Hystrix or resilience4j automatically isolate failing services. Configure timeout and retry policies preventing resource exhaustion. Implement fallback responses maintaining partial functionality. Monitor circuit breaker metrics to identify attack targets. These patterns ensure graceful degradation rather than complete failure.

Service mesh technologies like Istio or Linkerd provide sophisticated traffic management. Configure rate limiting at the mesh level for consistent protection. Implement mutual TLS to prevent unauthorized service access. Use traffic splitting to isolate suspicious requests. Enable distributed tracing to understand attack patterns. Service meshes provide defense-in-depth for complex architectures.

Container orchestration platforms require specific DDoS considerations. Kubernetes network policies restrict pod-to-pod communication. Resource quotas prevent individual services from consuming excessive resources. Horizontal pod autoscaling responds to increased load automatically. Implement pod disruption budgets maintaining minimum service levels. These Kubernetes-native features provide resilient infrastructure for containerized applications.