AWS Shield is a managed Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection service that safeguards applications running on AWS. It provides two tiers of protection: AWS Shield Standard and AWS Shield Advanced.
AWS Shield Standard is automatically included at no extra cost for all AWS customers. It pr…AWS Shield is a managed Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection service that safeguards applications running on AWS. It provides two tiers of protection: AWS Shield Standard and AWS Shield Advanced.
AWS Shield Standard is automatically included at no extra cost for all AWS customers. It protects against common, frequently occurring network and transport layer DDoS attacks targeting your websites and applications. This tier integrates with Amazon CloudFront and Route 53 to provide comprehensive availability protection.
AWS Shield Advanced offers enhanced protections for applications running on Amazon EC2, Elastic Load Balancing, Amazon CloudFront, AWS Global Accelerator, and Amazon Route 53. Key features include:
1. **Enhanced Detection**: Advanced provides more sophisticated attack detection and mitigation against larger and more complex DDoS attacks, including application layer attacks.
2. **24/7 DDoS Response Team (DRT)**: Subscribers gain access to AWS security experts who can assist during active attacks and help with mitigation strategies.
3. **Cost Protection**: Shield Advanced includes DDoS cost protection, which safeguards against scaling charges resulting from DDoS-related traffic spikes on protected resources.
4. **Real-time Visibility**: Provides detailed attack diagnostics and near real-time visibility into events through Amazon CloudWatch metrics and detailed reports.
5. **WAF Integration**: Shield Advanced integrates with AWS WAF, allowing you to create custom rules to mitigate application layer attacks.
6. **Health-Based Detection**: Uses application health information to improve response accuracy and reduce false positives.
For Solutions Architects, Shield Advanced is essential when designing highly available, resilient architectures for mission-critical applications. The service is priced with a monthly subscription plus data transfer fees. When architecting solutions requiring enterprise-grade DDoS protection, combining Shield Advanced with CloudFront, Route 53, and AWS WAF creates a robust defense-in-depth strategy against volumetric, state-exhaustion, and application layer attacks.
AWS Shield - Complete Guide for AWS Solutions Architect Professional
What is AWS Shield?
AWS Shield is a managed Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection service that safeguards applications running on AWS. It provides always-on detection and automatic inline mitigations that minimize application downtime and latency.
Why is AWS Shield Important?
DDoS attacks are among the most common and damaging threats to web applications. AWS Shield is critical because:
• It protects your applications from volumetric, state-exhaustion, and application layer attacks • It ensures high availability of your AWS resources during attack scenarios • It reduces the operational burden of implementing DDoS protection manually • It integrates natively with other AWS services like CloudFront, Route 53, and Elastic Load Balancing
AWS Shield Tiers
AWS Shield Standard: • Automatically included at no extra cost for all AWS customers • Provides protection against most common Layer 3 and Layer 4 DDoS attacks • Always-on detection and automatic inline mitigations • Protects resources like CloudFront and Route 53
AWS Shield Advanced: • Paid service with enhanced protection capabilities • Provides protection against larger and more sophisticated attacks • Includes Layer 7 (application layer) protection when used with AWS WAF • 24/7 access to the AWS DDoS Response Team (DRT) • Cost protection to prevent scaling charges during attacks • Real-time attack visibility and detailed diagnostics • Health-based detection for improved accuracy • Protects EC2, ELB, CloudFront, Global Accelerator, and Route 53
How AWS Shield Works
1. Detection: Shield continuously monitors traffic patterns and uses machine learning to identify anomalies that indicate potential DDoS attacks
2. Mitigation: When an attack is detected, Shield automatically applies mitigations to minimize impact. For Shield Advanced, custom mitigations can be implemented by the DRT
3. Integration: Shield works alongside AWS WAF for application layer protection and integrates with AWS Firewall Manager for centralized management across multiple accounts
Key Features of Shield Advanced
• DDoS Cost Protection: Credits for charges that result from DDoS-related scaling • AWS Firewall Manager Integration: Centrally manage Shield Advanced protections across your organization • Attack Visibility: Near real-time metrics and reports through CloudWatch • Proactive Engagement: DRT can proactively contact you during detected events • SLA: Service Level Agreement with financial remediation for downtime
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on AWS Shield
Scenario Recognition: • When a question mentions DDoS protection, think AWS Shield • Questions about cost protection during attacks point to Shield Advanced • Scenarios requiring 24/7 expert support for security incidents suggest Shield Advanced with DRT access
Key Distinctions to Remember: • Shield Standard is automatic and free; Shield Advanced is paid with premium features • Shield protects infrastructure layers; combine with AWS WAF for application layer protection • Shield Advanced requires explicit resource enrollment
Common Exam Scenarios: • A company needs protection against large-scale DDoS attacks with expert support → Shield Advanced • An organization wants to avoid unexpected costs from attack-induced scaling → Shield Advanced Cost Protection • Basic DDoS protection for a CloudFront distribution → Shield Standard (included by default) • Centralized DDoS protection across multiple AWS accounts → Shield Advanced with AWS Firewall Manager
Watch for These Keywords: • 'DDoS protection' → Shield • 'Layer 3/4 attacks' → Shield Standard or Advanced • 'Layer 7 attacks' → Shield Advanced + AWS WAF • '24/7 response team' → Shield Advanced with DRT • 'Cost protection during attacks' → Shield Advanced
Architecture Considerations: • Place Shield-protected resources at the edge (CloudFront, Route 53) for best protection • Use Shield Advanced with health checks for improved attack detection accuracy • Combine Shield Advanced with AWS WAF rules for comprehensive protection