DDoS Protection for Dedicated Servers: Mitigation Types, Scrubbing Centers, and Provider Comparison

DDoS attacks are the single biggest threat to online game servers. A well-timed Layer 7 attack can knock even a well-provisioned dedicated server offline, frustrating your players and potentially costing you revenue. This guide covers the types of DDoS mitigation available for dedicated servers, what to look for in a hosting provider, and how to choose between always-on and on-demand protection.

Types of DDoS Mitigation for Dedicated Servers

Not all DDoS protection is created equal. Here’s what the major mitigation types actually do:

• Network-level mitigation (L3/L4): Filters traffic at the network layer. Blocks volumetric attacks (UDP floods, SYN floods, ICMP floods) by analyzing packet headers. Most hosts include basic L3/L4 protection. Effective up to ~100 Gbps on budget plans.
• Application-layer mitigation (L7): Inspects packet payloads to distinguish legitimate game traffic from malicious requests. Essential for HTTP-based game services and WebSocket connections. More resource-intensive but stops sophisticated attacks that bypass L3/L4 filters.
• Behavioral analysis / AI-based: Uses ML models to learn normal traffic patterns and automatically block anomalies. Cloudflare Magic Transit and OVH’s VAC system use this approach. Effective against zero-day attack vectors.
• Scrubbing center filtering: Traffic is diverted to a specialized facility where malicious packets are removed before clean traffic is sent to your server. Adds 5-30 ms latency but can handle multi-Tbps attacks.

Scrubbing Centers: How They Work

Scrubbing centers are purpose-built data centers that sit between the internet and your dedicated server. When an attack is detected, your traffic is routed through BGP announcements to the nearest scrubbing center, where it passes through specialized hardware (typically F5, Arbor, or Corero appliances) that filter out attack traffic.

Key scrubbing center considerations:

• Proximity: Scrubbing centers should be geographically close to your server to minimize latency. OVH has scrubbing centers in Roubaix, Gravelines, and Beauharnois. Cloudflare has 330+ locations worldwide.
• Capacity: A scrubbing center with 10 Tbps of total capacity can absorb massive attacks. Budget hosts may share scrubbing capacity, meaning your protection degrades if multiple customers are attacked simultaneously.
• Mitigation time: The time between attack detection and traffic diversion. OVH’s VAC system claims sub-30-second mitigation. Some budget providers take 2-5 minutes — enough time for your game server to time out all active connections.

Always-On vs On-Demand DDoS Protection

Feature	Always-On	On-Demand
Latency impact	5-15 ms added (always routed through filter)	0 ms in normal operation; 5-30 ms during attack
Mitigation speed	Instant — traffic is always being inspected	30 seconds to 5 minutes to activate
Cost	Higher monthly fee ($20-$200+/month)	Lower base cost; may charge per-attack or usage
False positives	Risk of legitimate traffic being blocked	Lower risk — filtering only activates during attacks
Best for	Production game servers, competitive servers	Low-traffic servers, dev/test environments

What to Look for in a DDoS-Protected Hosting Provider

When evaluating dedicated server hosts for DDoS protection, ask these questions:

1. What is the mitigation capacity? Look for 1 Tbps+ for serious game servers. OVH offers up to 1.8 Tbps, Cloudflare up to 2 Tbps+.
2. Is L7 (application-layer) protection included? Many budget hosts only cover L3/L4. Game servers need L7 protection to filter malicious game packet payloads.
3. Is there a cleanup fee? Some providers charge extra if an attack triggers their mitigation (e.g., $50 per attack event). Others include it in the base price.
4. Can you whitelist IPs? For private game servers with known player IPs, whitelist-based filtering is the most effective approach — block everything except your players.
5. What’s the SLA on mitigation? Reputable providers guarantee mitigation within 30 seconds. Avoid hosts that don’t have a published SLA for DDoS response.

Top Providers for DDoS-Protected Dedicated Servers

• OVH / SoYouStart: Industry leader in DDoS mitigation. VAC (Voodoo Attack Control) system monitors 24/7. All dedicated servers include up to 1.8 Tbps mitigation at no extra cost. Best price-to-protection ratio.
• Hetzner: Includes 1 Tbps mitigation on all dedicated servers via their Arbor-based system. However, L7 protection requires their Cloud DDoS add-on for €19/month.
• Cloudflare Magic Transit: Best L7 protection. Scrub traffic at Cloudflare’s edge before it reaches your server. Starts at $5,000/month — enterprise-grade, but overkill for most game servers.
• Servers.com: Corero-based protection with sub-10-second mitigation. Included on all dedicated plans. Good for competitive gaming servers where uptime is critical.

For a side-by-side comparison of DDoS-protected dedicated server plans and their pricing, check out our dedicated server hosting comparison to find the right balance of protection and cost for your game server.