Which method involves dropping packets when a server is under heavy load and may require a requester to solve a difficult puzzle before continuing?

Which method involves dropping packets when a server is under heavy load and may require a requester to solve a difficult puzzle before continuing?

• A. Drop Requests
• B. Traffic Pattern Analysis
• C. KFSensor
• D. Event Log Analysis

Answer: (A)

When a server is under heavy load, it can protect itself by shedding excess work instead of queuing everything. Dropping some requests is a straightforward way to preserve resources for legitimate traffic. In some designs, after dropping or before processing, the server may require the requester to solve a computational puzzle as proof of effort, which helps deter abusive traffic while allowing real clients to proceed. That combination of discarding excess traffic and requiring a puzzle fits this scenario best. The other options describe ways to study or lure rather than govern real-time traffic under stress: analyzing traffic patterns looks for anomalies but doesn’t by itself stop or slow down requests; a honeypot like KFSensor purposefully attracts attackers for research; and event log analysis examines past records to detect issues rather than actively managing load at the moment.

When a server is under heavy load, it can protect itself by shedding excess work instead of queuing everything. Dropping some requests is a straightforward way to preserve resources for legitimate traffic. In some designs, after dropping or before processing, the server may require the requester to solve a computational puzzle as proof of effort, which helps deter abusive traffic while allowing real clients to proceed. That combination of discarding excess traffic and requiring a puzzle fits this scenario best.

The other options describe ways to study or lure rather than govern real-time traffic under stress: analyzing traffic patterns looks for anomalies but doesn’t by itself stop or slow down requests; a honeypot like KFSensor purposefully attracts attackers for research; and event log analysis examines past records to detect issues rather than actively managing load at the moment.