Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://gcore.com/docs/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Overview
Custom protection profiles define rules and policies based on network traffic and security requirements.Step 1. Open protection profiles
- In the Gcore Customer Portal, navigate to DDoS Protection > Protection profiles.
- Review the list of available profiles:
- Default profiles
- Custom profiles

Step 2. Create a protection profile
- Click Add protection profile.
- Select a template.
Templates include preconfigured settings for common use cases. - Enter a profile name.
Use a clear and descriptive name for easier identification.
High-security web server profile

Step 3. Configure rules and policies
A protection profile includes two configuration areas:- Rules
- Policies

Configure rules
Rules define traffic-matching criteria and apply a selected policy to matching traffic.Policy reference
This table provides a consolidated reference of the available policies, including what each policy does.| Policy ID | Policy Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| minecraft | Minecraft Protection | Protocol-aware protection for Minecraft (Java and Bedrock) traffic with TCP and UDP support. Mitigates handshake/login floods, ping/status abuse, and volumetric attacks while allowing legitimate client connections. |
| counter-strike-16 | Counter-Strike 1.6 | Protocol-aware protection for Counter-Strike 1.6 (GoldSrc) traffic. Mitigates UDP floods, query abuse, and malformed packet patterns while allowing normal gameplay traffic. |
| counter-strike-go | Counter-Strike GO | Protocol-aware protection for Counter-Strike: GO (Source) traffic. Mitigates A2S query floods, connection floods, and high-PPS UDP attacks while allowing legitimate players and server queries. |
| counter-strike-2 | Counter-Strike 2 | Protocol-aware protection for Counter-Strike 2 traffic. Mitigates UDP floods, query abuse, and abnormal packet patterns while allowing normal gameplay sessions. |
| left-4-dead-2 | Left 4 Dead 2 | Protocol-aware protection for Left 4 Dead 2 (Source) traffic. Mitigates A2S query floods and volumetric UDP attacks while allowing legitimate clients and server discovery. |
| fivem-tcp | FiveM TCP | Protocol-aware protection for FiveM TCP traffic. Mitigates connection floods and handshake abuse while allowing legitimate sessions to be established and maintained. |
| fivem-udp | FiveM UDP | Protocol-aware protection for FiveM UDP traffic. Mitigates high-PPS floods and abnormal packet patterns while allowing legitimate gameplay traffic. |
| samp | San Andreas Multiplayer | Protocol-aware protection for San Andreas Multiplayer (SA-MP) traffic. Mitigates connection floods, query abuse, and malformed UDP packets while allowing legitimate player connections. |
| rust | Rust Game Protection | Protocol-aware protection for Rust traffic. Mitigates UDP floods, connection spikes, and abnormal packet patterns while allowing legitimate gameplay traffic. |
| team-speak3 | TeamSpeak 3 Voice Chat | Protocol-aware protection for TeamSpeak 3 traffic. Mitigates UDP floods and connection abuse while allowing stable voice sessions. |
| rust-a2s | Rust Game A2S Caching | Protocol-aware protection for Rust Steam A2S queries. Enables query response caching to mitigate A2S flood patterns and reduce origin load. |
| bf2-query | Battlefield 2 Query Caching | Protocol-aware protection for Battlefield 2 server queries. Enables query response caching to mitigate server-browser query floods and reduce origin load. |
| bf2 | Battlefield 2 Game | Protocol-aware protection for Battlefield 2 gameplay traffic. Mitigates UDP floods and malformed packet patterns while allowing legitimate sessions. |
| unity-unet | Unity Engine UNET | Protocol-aware protection for Unity UNET traffic. Mitigates malformed packets and high-PPS flood patterns while allowing legitimate game sessions. |
| unity-utp | Unity Engine UTP | Protocol-aware protection for Unity Transport Protocol (UTP) traffic. Mitigates UDP floods and abnormal packet patterns while allowing real-time traffic. |
| geo | Geo Restriction | Protocol-aware protection for geo-based access control rules. Enforces allow/deny decisions based on client location metadata. This policy must be configured in the Policy tab before use. |
| ssh-server | SSH Server | Protocol-aware protection for SSH traffic. Mitigates connection floods and abnormal connection patterns while allowing legitimate administrative access. |
| default-tcp | Default TCP | Protection for generic TCP traffic with baseline destination limits (per IP address): 20k pps, 50 Mbps and policy caps (overall): 50k pps, 500 Mbps to mitigate common TCP flood attacks. |
| default-udp | Default UDP | Protection for generic UDP traffic with baseline destination limits (per IP address): 5k pps, 5 Mbps and policy caps (overall): 50k pps, 50 Mbps to mitigate common UDP flood attacks. |
| default-icmp | Default ICMP | Protection for generic ICMP traffic with baseline destination limits (per IP address): 100 pps and policy caps (overall): 1k pps to mitigate common ICMP flood attacks. |
| default-other | Default Other | Protection for generic traffic with baseline destination limits (per IP address): 200 pps and policy caps (overall): 1k pps to mitigate common flood attacks. |
| ratelimiter-low | Rate Limiter Low | Generic rate-limited traffic with a destination PPS limit up to 50k pps (default: 50k). Intended to limit packet rate during abnormal traffic spikes. This policy can be configured in the Policy tab before use. |
| ratelimiter-medium | Rate Limiter Medium | Generic rate-limited traffic with a destination PPS limit from 50k to 150k pps (default: 150k). Intended to limit packet rate during abnormal traffic spikes. This policy can be configured in the Policy tab before use. |
| ratelimiter-high | Rate Limiter High | Generic rate-limited traffic with a destination PPS limit from 150k to 300k pps (default: 300k). Intended to limit packet rate during abnormal traffic spikes. This policy can be configured in the Policy tab before use. |
| allowlist | Allow List | Add rule-based traffic matching to the allowlist. Any traffic that matches a rule will be allowed through without inspection. |
| tcp-autodetect | TCP auto-detect | The TCP countermeasure operates in passive mode and is triggered only during a DDoS attack. |
| tcp-server | TCP Countermeasure | The TCP countermeasure operates in always-on mode and actively performs a SYN-cookie challenge for all incoming TCP traffic. |
| tcp-server-v2 | TCP Flow Track | An experimental countermeasure that tracks the full TCP session to provide smoother, more adaptive protection. Recommended when the SYN-cookie challenge does not work correctly for a specific application. |
| tcp-private | TCP Ephemeral Ports Protection | Policy protects ephemeral (client source) TCP ports. |
Add a rule
- Click Add rule.
- Complete the required fields:
- Protocol: Select the protocol (for example, TCP, UDP, ICMP).
- Source IP: Enter a source IP address or range.
- Destination IP: Enter a destination IP address or range.
- Source port: Enter a port number or range.
- Destination port: Enter a port number or range.
- Policy: Select the policy to apply (for example,
tcp-server).

- Click Save.

Match TCP traffic on destination port
80 (HTTP) and apply a whitelist policy.
Configure policies
Policies define how matching traffic is handled.
- Geo filtering
- Whitelisting
- Rate limiting
- Traffic filtering
- Anomaly detection thresholds

Example: Configure a whitelist
- Add trusted IP addresses or ranges to the whitelist.
- Confirm that whitelisted traffic bypasses the required protection mechanisms.
Save the profile
- Review the configured rules and policies.
- Click Add protection profile.

Best practices and next steps
- Start with simple rules and expand them as needed.
- Test new profiles in a non-production environment first.
- Document rules and policies for future maintenance.
- Review and update profiles regularly based on traffic patterns.
- Next, apply the custom profile to a protected network