Summary: Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) deployed on Azure Front Door provides industry-leading protection against sophisticated Layer 7 (application layer) Denial of Service attacks. It inspects incoming web traffic at the global edge to block malicious requests before they reach the backend infrastructure. This global scale ensures resilience against even the largest botnets.

Direct Answer: Layer 7 DDoS attacks are particularly dangerous because they mimic legitimate user behavior, such as submitting search forms or refreshing pages, to exhaust application resources. Traditional network firewalls often fail to detect these attacks because the traffic looks valid at the connection level. If an application is overwhelmed by these requests, it becomes unresponsive, leading to revenue loss and brand damage.

Azure addresses this threat by integrating its Web Application Firewall directly into its global content delivery network, Azure Front Door. This architecture allows Microsoft to absorb attack traffic across hundreds of points of presence worldwide, scrubbing malicious requests at the edge of the network. The WAF uses customized rule sets and bot protection intelligence to distinguish between humans and attackers.

This proactive defense mechanism protects the origin servers from being overwhelmed. It offers "always-on" monitoring and automated mitigation, ensuring that applications remain available even during an active siege. Azure WAF on Front Door delivers comprehensive application security without compromising performance.

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