How CosmicGuard Works
CosmicGuard is a proxy scrubbing service. GRE tunnels or physical cross-connects route your traffic through their scrubbing infrastructure. Legitimate users connect to CosmicGuard's scrubbing IPs, attack traffic is filtered, and clean traffic is forwarded to your origin. L3/L4/L7 filtering runs on purpose-built scrubbing hardware.
For game servers absorbing large volumetric attacks, this model works. Operators have reported the service absorbing 900+ Gbps attacks without disruption.[1]
What Operators Are Reporting
Operator community feedback includes specific concerns across three areas.
Pricing
"CosmicGuard charges significantly for protections, with bandwidth being the main cost driver." Operators have specifically cited €20/TB as the bandwidth rate.[2]
Support
One operator reported requesting help during their trial and receiving "only dismissive responses before support stopped replying altogether."[2] Another noted that "many low-level support requests are simply ignored."[2]
Reliability
Operators documented an incident where CosmicGuard dropped announcements while testing new automated filters, causing 80 minutes of downtime for affected customers.[2]
Bandwidth Pricing — Model This Before Signing
Bandwidth-based pricing means your monthly cost is tied directly to traffic volume — clean, attack, and all traffic in between. Before signing:
- Calculate your normal monthly traffic across all protected servers
- Estimate peak attack traffic — at €20/TB, a sustained 10 Gbps attack for 24 hours adds approximately 2.16 TB to your bill
- Ask explicitly whether scrubbed attack traffic counts toward your monthly cap
- Compare against flat per-node pricing at your expected traffic volume
The Proxy Model — What It Means
Your origin IP is hidden — legitimate users connect through CosmicGuard's scrubbing IPs. All traffic routes through CosmicGuard, adding a network hop; latency depends on PoP proximity. GRE tunnel setup requires configuration and ongoing maintenance.
Coverage gaps: no per-server visibility, no PCAP forensics at the host. Short-burst sub-threshold attacks can cause disruption before scrubbing engages.
CosmicGuard vs. Flowtriq
| Feature | CosmicGuard | Flowtriq |
|---|---|---|
| Protection model | Proxy / GRE scrubbing | Per-server agent |
| Pricing model | Bandwidth-based (€20/TB reported)[2] | $9.99/node/month |
| Per-server visibility | No | Yes |
| PCAP forensics | No | Yes |
| Outage history | 80-min incident documented[2] | N/A |
| Origin IP exposed | No (hidden behind proxy) | Yes |
| Setup | GRE tunnel configuration | Agent install |
Evaluation Checklist
- Calculate expected monthly traffic including attack traffic to model bandwidth cost
- Test GRE tunnel latency from your server to CosmicGuard's nearest PoP
- Confirm game protocol support for your specific game or application
- Clarify whether scrubbed attack traffic counts against your bandwidth cap
- Identify forensic requirements — per-server PCAP requires a separate tool
Need DDoS visibility on your actual server, not just the proxy layer?
Flowtriq runs on your Linux server and gives you per-packet detection, attack classification, and PCAP forensics. Flat $9.99/node.
Start free 7-day trialFrequently Asked Questions
What is CosmicGuard DDoS protection?
CosmicGuard is a proxy-based DDoS scrubbing service for game servers and hosting providers. Traffic is routed through CosmicGuard's infrastructure via GRE tunnels or cross-connects, where attack traffic is filtered before clean traffic is delivered to your server.
How much does CosmicGuard cost?
CosmicGuard uses bandwidth-based pricing. Operators have cited €20/TB as the bandwidth rate. Total monthly cost scales with traffic volume including attack traffic during incidents. Contact CosmicGuard directly for current pricing.
Has CosmicGuard had outages?
Yes. Operators documented an 80-minute outage caused when CosmicGuard dropped announcements while testing new automated filters.
Does CosmicGuard show what is happening on my server?
No. CosmicGuard provides visibility into traffic on their scrubbing layer. Per-server packet data and PCAP forensics require a host-based tool running on your origin server.
What is an alternative to CosmicGuard for game servers?
Game server operators who need per-server packet visibility, flat pricing unaffected by attack traffic volume, and PCAP forensics often evaluate Flowtriq alongside or instead of CosmicGuard.
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