AWS WAF Tutorial Demonstrates Configuring Protection Packs and Bot Controls

Summary

A hands-on walkthrough shows how to configure AWS WAF protection packs, tune rate limits and managed rules, inspect traffic in logs, and test recommendations by blocking a request disguised as Googlebot.

Key points

• Protection packs tailor AWS WAF rules to an application's category and can be associated with resources such as a CloudFront distribution.
• The tutorial demonstrates customizable request-rate limits and explains that rule settings should match the application's expected behavior.
• IP reputation, anonymous IP, DDoS, and bot-control rules can be monitored in count mode before switching actions to blocking.
• Traffic dashboards and log exploration help investigate unexpected HTTP methods, inspect request details, and refine custom rules.
• The presenter tests a bot-control recommendation by sending a request with a Googlebot user agent; AWS WAF blocks the demonstrated request after the rule is enabled.