Introduction

Keywords

There are few specific keywords used in this document, which have specific meanings, here is quick list of them for easier understanding:

1. SteelShield Subsystem - Unreal Engine Subsystem for SteelShield, used for starting and stopping the DDoS protection layer
2. SteelShield Token Service - SteelShield backend hosted by Nitrado used for getting SteelShield tokens
3. SteelShield Token - Token acquired from SteelShield Token Service
4. Certificate - RSA256 Certificate, acquired from Nitrado staff or generated by integrators and given to Nitrado staff
5. JWT - Json Web Token, signed by Certificate and submitted to SteelShield Token Service
6. Game Client - The game which is run on the end users computer
7. Game Server - The dedicated game server which is run in Nitrado infrastructure
8. Game Backend - The backend system implemented by the game developer used to authenticate and track players
9. Roll Over - The process of receiving a new SteelShield Token before the current one expires
10. SteelShield Plugin - This Unreal Engine Plugin that implements the required code to prefix network packets with the SteelShield Token

Description

SteelShield is a DDoS protection system designed for the specific purpose of protecting game servers from large scale DDoS attacks. It achieves this by intercepting network traffic on the path to the game server, and identifying whether the combination of source address, destination address, port and network packet contents match the type of packets which would normally be expected for that game server.

The SteelShield Plugin for Unreal Engine enables better and more accurate packet matching by the SteelShield service by implementing Proof of Identity. It communicates with the SteelShield Token Service to prepend a SteelShield Token to network packets sent to the game server. This allows quick identification of malicious traffic, preventing it from propagating all the way to the game server, and offers traceability of attackers for quick user banning possibilities.

SteelShield Tokens are also set to roll over every 15 minutes (by default) in order to ensure that the token cannot be used in future DDoS attacks.

Using SteelShield with GameFabric

SteelShield is integrated with GameFabric Multiplayer Servers to provide DDoS protection for your game servers. For more information on deploying game servers with GameFabric, see the Multiplayer Servers documentation.