# Cloudflare DDoS Protection

Autonomous, always-on protection against DDoS attacks across L3/4 and L7.

## Protection Types

- **HTTP DDoS (L7)**: Protects HTTP/HTTPS traffic, phase `ddos_l7`, zone/account level
- **Network DDoS (L3/4)**: UDP/SYN/DNS floods, phase `ddos_l4`, account level only
- **Adaptive DDoS**: Learns 7-day baseline, detects deviations, 4 profile types (Origins, User-Agents, Locations, Protocols)

## Plan Availability

| Feature             | Free  | Pro   | Business | Enterprise | Enterprise Advanced |
| ------------------- | ----- | ----- | -------- | ---------- | ------------------- |
| HTTP DDoS (L7)      | ✓     | ✓     | ✓        | ✓          | ✓                   |
| Network DDoS (L3/4) | ✓     | ✓     | ✓        | ✓          | ✓                   |
| Override rules      | 1     | 1     | 1        | 1          | 10                  |
| Custom expressions  | ✗     | ✗     | ✗        | ✗          | ✓                   |
| Log action          | ✗     | ✗     | ✗        | ✗          | ✓                   |
| Adaptive DDoS       | ✗     | ✗     | ✗        | ✓          | ✓                   |
| Alert filters       | Basic | Basic | Basic    | Advanced   | Advanced            |

## Actions & Sensitivity

- **Actions**: `block`, `managed_challenge`, `challenge`, `log` (Enterprise Advanced only)
- **Sensitivity**: `default` (high), `medium`, `low`, `eoff` (essentially off)
- **Override**: By category/tag or individual rule ID
- **Scope**: Zone-level overrides take precedence over account-level

## Reading Order

| File                                   | Purpose                                                   | Start Here If...                                            |
| -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| [configuration.md](./configuration.md) | Dashboard setup, rule structure, adaptive profiles        | You're setting up DDoS protection for the first time        |
| [api.md](./api.md)                     | API endpoints, SDK usage, ruleset ID discovery            | You're automating configuration or need programmatic access |
| [patterns.md](./patterns.md)           | Protection strategies, defense-in-depth, dynamic response | You need implementation patterns or layered security        |
| [gotchas.md](./gotchas.md)             | False positives, tuning, error handling                   | You're troubleshooting or optimizing existing protection    |

## See Also

- [waf](../waf/) - Application-layer security rules
- [bot-management](../bot-management/) - Bot detection and mitigation
