Edge protection
The first security decision happens before the server.
How distributed filtering, abusive traffic mitigation and usage limits reduce pressure before a request reaches the application.
Why act before the origin
When every connection reaches the application server directly, it spends resources even to reject traffic with no value. A distributed edge receives that volume first and makes earlier decisions, preserving capacity for legitimate requests.
This layer reduces origin exposure and settles the network problem before the application. Code security is still handled in the code.
An application firewall needs context
An application firewall compares requests with protocol rules and known patterns. It can allow, challenge or block them according to the risk and confidence available at that moment.
A rule that is too broad creates false positives; a loose rule shifts the cost to the application. The policy combines general rules with the expected behavior of each route.
Limits for abuse and automation
Rate limiting observes the frequency of operations within a window. It helps when a legitimate action becomes abusive through repetition, including authentication, search or API requests.
A limit considers the cost, the identity and the purpose of the operation. The value changes per route: a login does not have the same expected frequency as a search.