We have never made a secret of the fact that we write our own software to clean up traffic, and that it all works on the x86 platform. Once again, the cleanup system is updated. This time the update is global, the platform for the cleaners is changing.

We have used processors and network cards from Intel. Until recently, this option was optimal in terms of price/performance ratio, but times are changing.

Updating the Scrubbing System, 2022 | StormWall

<h1>Updating the scrubbing system</h1>

27 january 2022

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More and more often, our customers face DDoS attacks of more than 1 Tbit/s. Experts predict that the strength of attacks is increasing every year, and now it&rsquo;s not a fantasy. We understand this like no other and try to be one step, and often several, ahead.

We have never made a secret of the fact that we write our own software to clean up traffic, and that it all works on the x86 platform. Once again, the cleanup system is updated. This time the update is global, the platform for the cleaners is changing. From the beginning we have used processors and network cards from Intel. Until recently, this option was optimal in terms of price/performance ratio, but times are changing.

In mid-2021, we started testing the new platform with AMD&#39;s Epyc processors, and it performed very well. These processors benefit both in terms of performance per core for our tasks and in terms of the number of cores and cache size, which, for now, is 64 cores without hyperthreading and 256 MB of cache.

The second change is the replacement of the network card. Now we use Mellanox ConnectX-6, with this combination you can get performance up to 400 Gbit and more than 300 Mbps per 1 unit.
<img alt="cleaning-system-upgrade-process" height="1333" src="https://content2.stormwall.network/or/articles/cleaning-system-upgrade-process-1.jpeg" style="margin: 15px auto;" width="1000" />
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On the picture you can see the preparation of a 1.6 Tbit/s scrubbing cluster. Configuration of individual nodes: Gigabyte R182-Z90 / 2x AMD Epic 7742 / 512 Gb DDR4 ECC / 2x128Gb SSD/ 2 x Mellanox ConnectX-6 100G Dual Port. Of course, we have more than one of these racks and not just in one location. Work on the upgrade is in full swing, we will share photos and videos with you.
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How is the process of updating the scrubbing system

Have you ever moved a rack of server and telecommunications equipment inside the datacenter without inconveniencing your business or your customers? We assure you - this is a very exciting activity!

Have you ever moved a rack of server and telecommunications equipment inside the datacenter without inconveniencing your business or your customers?..

One of the Racks in Hong Kong Is Migrating | StormWall

<h1>One of the racks in Hong Kong is migrating</h1>

24 january 2022

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As the saying goes, a move is worse than a fire. So it happened that at some point we needed to migrate one of the racks in Hong Kong. We don&#39;t want to go into details why it happened here, because everything happens in business (even with good suppliers), but for us it&#39;s not a problem, it&#39;s a challenge!

Where to start? With the search for a provider, of course. Equinix is particularly receptive to questions about electricity. You don&#39;t mess with them in this regard, you don&#39;t consume an extra 1-2 kVA so no one notices, everything results in decent bills for the excess. The task was to find a reliable supplier with a reasonable price for a rack with 2 inputs of 5 kVA each. The search wasn&#39;t easy, negotiations with different suppliers lasted about a month, but in the end we received the most advantageous offer from one of our upstream providers - PCCW, for which we are very grateful.
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Where do we go from here? Of course, we have to redo all the cross connections. Since this process depends on us only financially, our involvement was limited to filling out the forms and paying the bills. Not very exciting, but important paperwork. Equinix and its specialists do the rest. They aren&#39;t very efficient, I&#39;d have to wait and not to forget to pay for an empty rack.

Now, the place of the migration is marked, the most interesting stage begins.

Preparation. Every migration begins with planning. We spent a lot of time in meetings so as not to forget any detail, because it must have taken only 8 hours to move the whole rack. Several times neighbouring departments sat down to work out the role of each participant. We put together an up-to-the-minute moving schedule, steps to turn equipment off and on, an inspection schedule, and a list of everyone&#39;s contacts. I&#39;d like to note that the guys worked perfectly, everyone understood that the success of the operation depended on him and put all their effort into it.

Beginning. Since the rack is in production, the first thing we did was to inform the customers who might be affected by this maintenance about the preparations and switch them to the neighboring devices. The process went without any problems. In parallel, the on-site technicians began to mark up all the connecting lines and devices.
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This was an important step that allows us to quickly put everything back together in the future. We managed to do it in 4 hours. At this point, the preparation is over, everyone is in anticipation.

Migration. It starts at 9 o&#39;clock in Hong Kong, we start shutting down the equipment, the filtering capacity in Asia is temporarily lower than normal, and we distribute the attack traffic to other geolocations. Everything works stable, we can go on. An hour later, the technicians arrive at the entrance to the data center, the equipment is already powered down and waiting to be disassembled and loaded onto a trolley. We disassemble it and move to another rack.
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We&#39;ve arrived and we are assembling the rack.
<img alt="new-hong-kong-rack-10" height="210" src="https://content2.stormwall.pro/or/articles/new-hong-kong-rack-10.jpeg" style="margin: 15px auto;" width="350" />
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<hr /> <img alt="new-hong-kong-rack-12" height="210" src="https://content2.stormwall.pro/or/articles/new-hong-kong-rack-12.jpeg" style="margin: 15px auto;" width="350" />Since we have prepared well, from this moment the most boring part of the move begins for the back office, but at the same time the most fun for the technicians. The equipment is mounted into the new rack according to the scheme, all cables and patch cords are still disconnected. First, we mount the out-of-band network and console control, then the main network. Everything is neatly stacked, fastened and tied up. Of course, the technicians don&#39;t forget about lunch break. As the saying goes, you can postpone a war, but never a lunch.
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The magic is done and the rack is ready. The process took about 6.5 hours, 2 technicians involved.
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Last stage - we start the equipment according to the plan. First, the out-of-band router and console server, then the main network devices, then the servers (yes, we scrub traffic on x86 servers with our own software). Surprisingly, after the check-up, it turned out that only 2 connections didn&#39;t go up. This isn&#39;t much, it was expected to be worse. The problem was solved by replacing faulty patchcords and we started preparing the network to resume traffic. This process took a few more hours, as it had to be done carefully and with minimal impact on customer traffic.

As a result, we have a new rack, we have more kVA for less money, and our team had a great experience. Thanks to everyone involved, and thanks to our customers for their understanding and support.
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One of the racks in Hong Kong is migrating

According to the study, the number of DDoS attacks on the financial, retail, gaming and education sectors increased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020.

The experts found that the most frequently attacked industries in 2021 were the financial sector (43%), retail (31%) and gaming (18%).

2021 DDoS Report: the Most Attacked Industries | StormWall

<h1>In 2021, DDoS attacks were most often directed at the financial sector, retail and the gaming industry</h1>

31 january 2022

StormWall experts have analyzed the indicators of DDoS attacks on companies in 2021. The experts found that the most frequently attacked industries last year were the financial sector (43%), retail (31%) and gaming (18%). Also last year, hackers attacked the telecommunications sector (4%), the education sector (3%) and others (1%). According to the study, the number of DDoS attacks on the financial, retail, gaming and education sectors increased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020. StormWall customer data was used for the analysis.

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According to experts, the number of DDoS attacks on the financial sector in 2021 increased by 84% compared to the previous year. The financial sector is always attractive for hackers and they are constantly looking for new tools to organize cyberattacks. In 2021, new botnets became such tools, with the help of which attackers were able to organize attacks on financial organizations with a capacity of up to 1.2 Tbit/s. The number of DDoS attacks on online retail increased by 75% in 2021 compared to 2020, with August and November being the most attacked months. The number of DDoS attacks on retail in August 2021 increased by 62% compared to the same period last year, and the number of attacks in November 2021 increased by 330% compared to November 2020, due to the incredible activity of hackers during Black Friday last year.

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The gaming industry was also hit hard by hackers last year. Experts compared the indicators of 2021 and 2020 and found that hackers&#39; interest in gaming companies increased significantly last year. The number of DDoS attacks on the gaming industry increased by 62% in 2021 compared to the previous year. To disable the resources of gaming companies, hackers used the most advanced tools for organizing attacks. The maximum capacity of DDoS attacks on the gaming industry has reached 2 Tbit/s, which is an absolute record in the history of cyberattacks. The number of DDoS attacks on the education sector has increased by 36% in 2021 compared to 2020, with most attacks organized by students last year.

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&quot;In 2021, the number of DDoS attacks has increased significantly compared to 2020. The problem is that cybercriminals have become more inventive, they use new tools to organize DDoS attacks, such as botnets, and it is difficult for companies to stop a powerful attack on their own. Attackers have also learned to combine botnets to make the attack even more destructive. In 2021, there were many attacks on the financial sector, although hackers attacked the entertainment sector most frequently in 2020. DDoS attacks are expected to target the financial, retail, telecom, and medical sectors in 2022 due to the ongoing pandemic and challenging economy. According to preliminary forecasts, this year could see an increase in peak attack performance to 2.5-3 Tbit/s,&quot; said Ramil Khantimirov, CEO and co-founder of StormWall.

Updating the scrubbing system

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