What Happens When Your Garry's Mod Server Is Attacked

Your Garry's Mod server is protected by VibeSHIELD, the anycast DDoS protection network that VibeGAMES runs itself. It is included with the server, it is always on, and there is nothing to set up. This article explains what VibeSHIELD filters for Garry's Mod, what you and your players see during an attack, and how to react.

1What VibeSHIELD Does for Your Garry's Mod Server

• A Garry's Mod filter protects the game port UDP 27015. It understands Source engine traffic and drops packets that do not match it.
• A2S queries are answered at the edge. Server-list and query floods are handled there, so your server keeps appearing in the server browser without doing the work itself.
• The filter runs at the VibeSHIELD point of presence nearest to the source of the traffic. Only clean traffic continues to your server.
• Protection is automatic. You do not have to report an attack or enable anything.

2What Players Notice

• Usually nothing. A DarkRP session or a TTT round carries on.
• Very large attacks can cause a few seconds of higher ping or packet loss while filtering ramps up.
• If the server is unreachable, look at the console in the game panel first. A Lua error that crashes the server, running out of memory or a wrong port are more likely than the attack.

3Where to See the Attack

• Log in to the website dashboard and open your Garry's Mod server.
• Click the DDoS protection tab. The tab is in the website dashboard at vibegames.com, not in the game panel at game.vibegames.com.
• Status reads Active. Attack status reads Not under attack or Under attack.
• The Attack history table lists the attacks of the last 30 days with an ID, the peak size in Mbps or Gbps, and the start and stop time.
• Expand a row for the breakdown: a traffic chart over time, source countries, source networks (ASN), source ports, destination ports, protocol, TTL and packet sizes.

4The Email You Receive

• When an attack targets your server's port, the email on your account receives a message with the subject DDoS attack detected on your server <ip>.
• It tells you VibeSHIELD is filtering the traffic and that no action is needed.
• The IP address is shared between several servers on the node, each on its own port. The attack is matched to your server by that port.

5What to Do

• Nothing is required for the attack itself.
• Do not share your server IP in response to threats, and never pay anyone who claims they can stop an attack.
• Leave the port alone. Changing it does not help against attacks and is not needed.
• A move to another location is not needed either. All locations are behind VibeSHIELD.
• If players report problems during an attack, open a ticket and include the attack ID from the history table.

Good to Know

• Query floods do not reach the server. A2S queries are answered at the edge, so the server browser keeps showing your server during an attack.
• The attack ID is your reference. Use it when you contact support so we can find the exact incident.
• Read more. See how VibeSHIELD protects your game server for the full picture.