A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the regular functioning of a network, service, or website by overwhelming it with a flood of internet traffic. This flood of traffic typically comes from multiple sources, making it difficult to mitigate.

Rate limiting is a security measure that sets a threshold for the number of requests a server will accept from a particular source within a specified time frame. By implementing rate limiting, we restrict the rate at which requests can be made, preventing an excessive number of requests from overwhelming our system. Read more about rate limiting here.

In the context of DDoS protection, rate limiting can help mitigate the impact of an attack by restricting the volume of incoming requests. This can prevent the targeted system from being overloaded, maintaining its availability and performance.

It acts as a barrier, allowing only a reasonable amount of traffic to reach the server, effectively thwarting the DDoS attack.

It's like having a bouncer at a club entrance, ensuring that only a manageable number of people get in at a time - preventing chaos and maintaining order so people can dance and have fun without interruptions ✌