# PingLess WAF overview

> PingLess WAF is a managed edge web application firewall that stops layer-7 attacks upstream — no agent on your server, just a DNS change.
>
> Canonical: https://xdp.network/docs/pingless-waf/overview · Updated 2026-08-09

PingLess WAF is a managed web application firewall that runs on our edge network,
in front of your origin server. Nothing installs on your server — you turn
protection on with a single DNS change.

## What a managed edge WAF is

A web application firewall inspects HTTP and HTTPS requests and drops the ones
that look like attacks. *Managed* means we run it for you: the infrastructure,
the rules, and the updates. You do not maintain software or tune rules by hand —
you point your domain at the edge and the filtering happens upstream, on our
network.

## Where PingLess WAF sits

PingLess WAF sits between your visitors and your origin. Every request to your
site hits the edge first; legitimate traffic is forwarded to your origin and
attack traffic is dropped before it gets near your server. Your origin only ever
sees clean requests.

## What PingLess WAF stops

- **HTTP floods.** Layer-7 request floods are absorbed at the edge, upstream of
  your origin.
- **Bots.** Suspicious clients get a JavaScript challenge; real visitors pass
  straight through.
- **Common CVE exploits.** Virtual patching ships managed rules that block known
  exploit patterns before you have patched the application.

## What PingLess WAF does not stop

PingLess WAF does not protect your own server from layer-3/layer-4 volumetric
floods sent straight at its IP address. That is OpenShield-XDP's job: a kernel
agent that drops floods inside the NIC path on the server itself. Many
deployments run both — the WAF for layer 7, the agent for layers 3 and 4. See
[What is XDP.NETWORK](/docs/getting-started/what-is-xdp-network) for how the
products fit together, and [Attack types](/docs/attack-mitigation/attack-types)
for what each layer faces.

## Next steps

- [Setup](/docs/pingless-waf/setup)
- [Rules and protections](/docs/pingless-waf/rules)
- [WAF vs WAF Pro](/docs/pingless-waf/waf-vs-waf-pro)