Question

You are troubleshooting an intermittent connectivity issue with a web server. After examining the logs, You identify repeated connection attempts from various IP addresses. You realize these connection attempts are overloading the server, preventing it from responding to other connections. What is MOST likely occurring?

Answer 1

The web server is likely experiencing a Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, which involves numerous connection attempts that overload the server and disrupt its normal operation. To address this issue, implementing network security measures and correcting any server configuration vulnerabilities is crucial.

Step-by-step explanation:

When examining repeated connection attempts from various IP addresses that are overloading a server, it is most likely that the server is experiencing a Denial of Service (DoS) attack or a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Such attacks flood the server with traffic, making it unable to respond to legitimate connection requests. This can manifest as intermittent connectivity issues for normal traffic due to the overwhelming load placed on the server's resources.

To mitigate the problem, you could implement network security measures such as firewalls, load balancers, or services designed to identify and mitigate these kinds of attacks. Additionally, examining the server's configuration for any vulnerabilities and strengthening its defenses could help in preventing future incidents.