DDoS Test Kickoff: Information We Need From You
A pre-kickoff checklist for scoping and preparing a DDoS resilience/attack simulation test
Written by I. Solomon
Updated at August 3rd, 2026
Table of Contents
To make the kickoff call as efficient as possible, please have the following ready beforehand.
1. Assets & Network Design
- In-scope IPs/CIDRs, hostnames, and FQDNs (plus anything explicitly out of scope).
- Basic network diagram: how traffic reaches the asset (edge, firewall, load balancer, origin).
- ASN/upstream provider, and whether cloud, on-prem, or hybrid.
- Environment: production, staging, or dedicated test.
2. Protection Measures
- Vendors/products in use (cloud scrubbing, on-prem appliance, CDN, WAF).
- Always-on vs. on-demand, and known detection/mitigation thresholds.
- Whether the mitigation vendor needs to be notified or on standby during the test.
3. Test Goals
- Primary objective (e.g., validate mitigation time, test a new deployment, compliance requirement, post-incident follow-up).
- Announced vs. unannounced, and black-box vs. white-box.
4. Services in Scope
- Which services: Web/HTTP(S), DNS, SIP/VoIP, APIs, etc.
- Relevant ports/protocols for each.
5. Past Attacks
- Dates, vectors, and rough scale of any prior DDoS incidents.
- Business impact and any changes made afterward.
6. Logistics
- Preferred test window and any blackout periods.
- Traffic/duration limits and abort criteria.