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A traffic spike alone does not prove that bots caused a website outage. Look for several signals that line up: downtime or errors occurring alongside an unusual rise in requests or bandwidth, repeated or unusual request patterns, and evidence that the origin is struggling. Compare them with the site’s normal traffic, check the CDN and origin separately, and rule out legitimate automation or a provider incident before changing security rules.
Start by defining the outage
Record when the problem began, which pages or APIs are affected, and whether failures are constant or intermittent. Note what visitors experience—such as slow responses, timeouts, or error codes—and compare that window with request, bandwidth, and server-health data.
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Repeated 4xx or 5xx errors can be consistent with an origin struggling under load, but errors do not identify the cause by themselves. A slowdown or site outage, an unexpected request or bandwidth increase, and unusual requests in origin logs are indicators to investigate, not proof of an attack. Cloudflare’s DDoS guidance was last updated April 20, 2026; its DDoS detection overview, last updated April 15, 2026, describes request metadata and origin response metrics as relevant inputs.
Compare the event with a meaningful baseline
Use your own site’s usual request volume and bandwidth rather than a universal requests-per-second cutoff. Compare equivalent times and days, and account for predictable changes such as a promotion, product launch, news coverage, or crawler activity.
#1 Best Overall
- (10/100/1G) Gigabit Bypass network tap / sniffer equivalent to port mirror on a switch.
- The two monitor/sniff ports are isolated from the network being monitored.
- Automatic bypass of device on power fail.
- Power-over-Ethernet (POE) pass-through. Rated at .75A max at 57vdc
- 5v power through USB3 port or 5v wall transformer (or both). ~500ma consumption.
A seven-day view can help reveal recurring daily peaks and valleys, according to Google Project Shield’s outage guidance. That is one useful comparison window, not a mandatory diagnostic period. A sharp rise is more meaningful when it is unusual for your site and coincides with the outage.
Inspect what the traffic is doing
Where your logs and provider analytics allow, examine the affected hostnames and paths, HTTP methods, request rates, response codes, user agents, and origin error rates. Look for repeated requests to an expensive route, login page, or API, or a pattern that creates many cache misses. Contrast that with a broad increase that fits a real audience surge.
Rank #2
- The SharkTap is a special purpose 10/100/1000Base-T ethernet device that allows you to 'tap into' an ethernet connection. It is intended to be used with the free Wireshark protocol analyzer or equivalent.
- Conventional switches route packets only to the intended destination port, reducing traffic but preventing a third port from seeing all packets. The SharkTap duplicates all packets to or from the Network ports to the TAP port.
- Supports 10, 100 and 1000Base-T, all ports. Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE) pass-through.
- Powered from a USB-B cable (included), draws 350mA or less.
- Other features: Auto-MDIX, so no crossover cables ever needed. Non-conductive enclosure for lab work. Will NOT route packets from TAP to Network ports.
Cloudflare’s DDoS detection documentation describes HTTP request information and origin response metrics as inputs to detection. Large volumes of origin 403 or 404 responses can also fit a bot or scraping pattern, but they may have other explanations. Cloudflare’s rate-limiting guidance gives that pattern as an example within a particular plan and rule configuration—not as a general attack threshold.
Separate CDN, proxy, and origin evidence
If requests pass through a CDN, reverse proxy, or WAF, compare what that edge service sees with what the origin records. Check origin health independently where possible; an edge service can be reachable while the origin is failing, or the edge itself can be part of the problem.
Rank #3
![Dualcomm10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet Network TAP [ETAP-2003]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41BN4VAnktL._SL160_.jpg)
- Network Tap for use with 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet link
- Reliable and high performance. Tested with maximum in-line cable length (200m) at full 1Gbps data throughput with no single packet loss
- Capable of being powered from a computer's USB port with built-in inrush current limiting circuit to prevent the computer from possible damages or disturbances by instantaneous current surge
- Compatible with Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)
- Probably the smallest portable GbE Network Tap available on the market
Before interpreting a cluster of requests from one IP address, establish which address each system is logging. A proxy may make many visitors appear to come from a small set of intermediary addresses, and forwarded client-IP headers are only useful when the architecture and trusted-proxy configuration are correct. AWS Bot Control documentation says it recognizes some named CDN client-IP headers automatically; other proxy setups may need forwarded-IP configuration for IP-based rules. Cloudflare also warns that an upstream CDN or proxy can obscure client identity and affect mitigation accuracy or cause false positives: see its proxy and IP-address guidance.
Rule out legitimate automation and service problems
Check whether uptime monitors, internal monitoring, load-balancer health checks, search crawlers, or scheduled jobs changed around the time the outage began. These systems generate automated requests and can be classified as bots; AWS explicitly notes that monitoring tools, uptime checkers, and health checks can appear as bot activity in its Bot Control guidance.
Rank #4
- Ethernet Test Access Port that does not require an ethernet port, for thin notebook or netbook PCs. Uses USB 3 or USB 2 port on PC (Also provides a CAT-5 TAP port)
- A 'Test Access Port' allows you to see the packets on an ethernet link. Directly supports 10-, 100- or 1000Base-T links.
- Intended to be used with the open source Wireshark program, or equivalent.
- The Gen2 SharkTapUSB features 'carbon copy' copper repeater technology for minimum impact on the monitored network. The carbon copies of bi-directional data are aggregated onto a single wired or USB Test Access Port (TAP)
- Power-over-ethernet pass through. (For power-fail bypass, search "SharkTapBYP") 400mA current. Non-conductive plastic cover. Auto cross-over for cables. USB3 cable included
Also check hosting and CDN status or maintenance notices, then assess the origin’s health. Google Project Shield lists a hosting-provider maintenance event or outage among possible explanations for a site being down. A provider incident can coincide with normal traffic, and an increase in traffic does not rule out a separate service failure.
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No single metric settles the diagnosis. Compare the possibilities across these four checks:
Best Value
- First-of-Its-Kind "One Size Fits All" Network TAP: Supports both copper and fiber Ethernet links, with speeds ranging from 100Mb/s to 10Gb/s (100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G).
- Patented High-Gigabit Signal Duplication Technology: eliminates the need for 10G+ fanout buffer IC chips, significantly enhancing reliability while minimizing power consumption.
- Versatile Connectivity: Features two inline network ports and two monitor ports with SFP+/SFP slots, compatible with copper and fiber transceivers for data rates from 100Mb/s to 10Gb/s.
- Simplified Fiber TAP Operation: Eliminates the need to specify an optical split ratio, streamlining setup and usage.
- Real-Time Performance: Guarantees zero transmission delays, ensuring accurate data monitoring and analysis.
- Traffic: Did requests or bandwidth rise unusually for this site and time?
- Request pattern: Do paths, methods, rates, and response patterns suggest repeated automated activity?
- Where failure occurs: Is the edge healthy while the origin is failing, or does the problem appear at the CDN or proxy?
- Timing: Does a deployment, provider incident, promotion, monitor change, or other legitimate event explain the onset?
A traffic-driven outage becomes more plausible when unusual volume, suspicious request patterns, and origin impact coincide, while provider status and expected activity do not explain the timing. If those signals do not agree, keep the cause uncertain and gather more evidence rather than labeling the event a bot attack.
Respond cautiously and preserve evidence
- Save the evidence. Preserve a representative sample of affected logs and export relevant provider analytics before changing rules, so you can compare the event before and after mitigation.
- Check visibility and logging. Use the platform’s dashboards and detailed WAF or request logs to investigate anomalies. AWS guidance describes anomalous rules and labels as investigation signals that can also help identify false positives; see its application-layer DDoS guidance.
- Choose a narrowly scoped control. If evidence supports automated abuse, consider the existing platform’s logging, challenge, or rate-limit controls for the affected paths and traffic pattern. Cloudflare’s rate-limiting best practices recommend considering rate limiting alongside bot management where appropriate.
- Watch for unintended impact. Monitor legitimate requests and origin health after applying a rule; adjust or roll it back if it blocks customers, monitors, or other valid traffic.
Managed protections also depend on architecture. AWS documents application-layer mitigation that compares current patterns with historical baselines, as well as limitations when a CDN does not preserve or forward client attributes, in its application-layer DDoS documentation. AWS says the Anti-DDoS Managed Rule Group became the default HTTP request flood protection solution for new Shield Advanced customers beginning March 26, 2026; availability and configuration depend on account eligibility and the current service setup. Do not treat a provider feature or example rule as a universal fix.
Do not block traffic solely because it is automated or comes from an unfamiliar address. Legitimate crawlers and monitors, customers sharing a network, and proxy address aggregation can all resemble hostile traffic.
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