Table of Contents
Path.net is a network security service built to absorb and filter distributed denial of service attacks before they reach your server. It is not a web host in the usual sense. You do not buy a shared plan and upload a website. Instead you route your traffic through its scrubbing network so the junk gets stripped out and clean traffic reaches you. This review explains what it does, how the filtering works and who really needs it.
What Path.net does
A denial of service attack floods a server with fake traffic until real users cannot get through. Path.net sits in front of your infrastructure and inspects incoming packets, dropping the attack traffic and forwarding the legitimate requests. It is aimed at people who run services that attract attacks, such as game servers, application backends and busy online communities. The pitch is simple. Keep your service online even when someone is trying to knock it offline.
How the filtering works
Traffic is commonly routed through Path.net using GRE tunnels or by pointing your domain and IP at its network. The service analyzes patterns in real time and blocks known attack signatures along with sudden floods of traffic that do not look human. Because the filtering happens across a distributed network with lots of capacity, it can soak up large attacks that would flatten a single unprotected server. The goal is low latency, so protected traffic should still feel fast to your users.
Who needs this
Most small websites will never need dedicated DDoS filtering, since a good host or a content delivery network already covers basic protection. Path.net makes more sense for game server operators, people running competitive online services and businesses whose uptime is a target. If you have been hit by repeated attacks and your current host cannot keep you online, a specialist filtering network is worth pricing out. For a hobby blog it is overkill.
Things to weigh
Routing traffic through a third party adds a hop, so test latency for your own users before committing. Pricing for mitigation services scales with capacity and the size of attacks you want covered, so get a clear quote for your traffic level. Treat Path.net as a shield you place in front of your existing servers, not as a replacement for the host that actually runs your application. Used that way it complements your setup rather than competing with it.
For background on the attacks this defends against, see Wikipedia, and compare other providers in our hosting reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Path.net a web host?
No. Path.net is a DDoS protection and traffic filtering network. It sits in front of your servers to block attacks. You still need a host to run your actual website or application behind it.
How does Path.net stop attacks?
It routes your traffic through a high capacity scrubbing network, usually via GRE tunnels, inspects the packets in real time, drops attack traffic and forwards only clean requests to your server so it stays online.
Who should use Path.net?
Game server operators, application hosts and any online service that gets targeted by denial of service attacks. Small blogs and low traffic sites usually do not need it, since basic protection from a host or CDN is enough.
Does filtering slow down my site?
Adding a filtering hop can add a little latency, but a well placed network keeps it low. Always test with your own users and locations before you commit, so you know the real world impact for your audience.