WAFCDN

WAFCDN refers to a bundled or integrated service that combines a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with a Content Delivery Network (CDN). It is offered by cloud providers and security vendors to protect web applications while improving performance by distributing content at edge locations.

The CDN component caches static and dynamic content across a network of edge servers, reducing latency and origin load by serving requests from nearby nodes. The WAF component inspects incoming traffic for malicious patterns, blocks or mitigates attacks, and enforces security policies. Together, these functions help mitigate common web threats such as injection, cross-site scripting, and other OWASP Top 10 risks, while also providing DDoS protection and bot management capabilities. TLS termination and rate limiting are often handled at the edge.

Typical deployment places the WAF and CDN at the edge, acting as a reverse proxy. Traffic is directed through the service via DNS or anycast routing. Administrators configure security rules, managed or custom, along with caching policies, bot management settings, and TLS certificates. The origin server remains behind the edge infrastructure and is insulated from direct exposure to clients.

Benefits include improved security posture, faster content delivery, reduced bandwidth consumption, and centralized policy management. Use cases span e-commerce, SaaS platforms, and websites with global or fluctuating traffic demands. Considerations include cost, potential configuration complexity, data privacy and compliance, vendor lock-in, and the need for ongoing rule maintenance and monitoring.