What Happens When Your Counter-Strike 2 Server Is Attacked

A Counter-Strike 2 match is sensitive to every millisecond, so a DDoS attack on the server is something you want handled before it reaches the players. VibeSHIELD, the anycast protection network included with every VibeGAMES server, does exactly that. This article explains what it filters for Counter-Strike 2, what you will see during an attack and what to do.

1What VibeSHIELD Does for Your Counter-Strike 2 Server

• A Counter-Strike 2 filter protects the game port UDP 27015. It is written for Source 2 traffic and drops packets that do not match what a real client sends.
• The same filter answers A2S server-list queries at the edge. Query floods are absorbed there and your server stays visible in the server browser.
• Traffic enters VibeSHIELD at the point of presence nearest to its source and is filtered there. Only clean traffic continues to your server.
• Nothing has to be enabled or configured. The protection is on from the moment the server is created.

2What Players Notice

• In most attacks, nothing. The match continues.
• During very large attacks a few seconds of higher ping or packet loss can occur while the filtering ramps up.
• If players are dropped and cannot rejoin, the attack is rarely the cause. Check the console in the game panel first. A plugin crash, running out of memory or a wrong port are the usual reasons.

3Where to See the Attack

• Open the website dashboard, click your Counter-Strike 2 server and choose the DDoS protection tab.
• The tab is in the website dashboard at vibegames.com. The game panel at game.vibegames.com, where the console and files are, does not have it.
• Status reads Active. Attack status reads Not under attack or Under attack.
• The Attack history table shows the last 30 days: ID, peak size in Mbps or Gbps, start time and stop time.
• Expand a row for the full breakdown: traffic chart over time, source countries, source networks (ASN), source ports, destination ports, protocol, TTL and packet sizes.

4The Email You Receive

• If an attack targets your server's port, the email address on your account receives a message with the subject DDoS attack detected on your server <ip>.
• It confirms that VibeSHIELD is filtering the traffic and that no action is needed.
• The IP in the subject is shared by several servers on the node. Your server is identified by its port.

5What to Do

• There is nothing to do for the attack itself.
• Do not share your server IP with people who threaten you, and never pay anyone who claims they will stop an attack.
• Do not change the game port. It does not help and is not needed.
• Do not move to another location for protection. Every location is behind VibeSHIELD.
• If players report problems during an attack, open a ticket with the attack ID from the history table.

Good to Know

• Your server stays in the browser. Because A2S queries are answered at the edge, a query flood does not knock your server out of the server list.
• Peak size is in the table. The size column shows the peak of each attack in Mbps or Gbps, which is useful if you want to compare incidents.
• Read more. The article on how VibeSHIELD protects your game server covers the network itself.