Category
AI web application firewall software: what they are and who makes them
cloud waf as a service, cloud-provider native waf, edge platform with built-in waf, appliance and virtual waf: Link11 WAAP, Sucuri Website Firewall, Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service through Indusface AppTrana.
Types of AI web application firewall software
Cloud WAF as a service
You change DNS and the vendor's edge filters traffic before it reaches your servers. Link11, Sucuri, Imperva Cloud WAF and Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service work this way. Setup is quick, but all traffic passes through the vendor, so its uptime becomes yours.
Cloud-provider native WAF
AWS WAF and Azure Web Application Firewall attach to load balancers, CDNs and gateways inside their own cloud. Pricing is metered per policy, rule and request. They fit workloads already hosted there and mean little for sites hosted on other infrastructure.
Edge platform with built-in WAF
Cloudflare, Akamai and Fastly bundle the WAF with CDN, DDoS and bot controls on one network. You get one console and one contract, at the cost of moving delivery, and often DNS, onto that platform and living with its rule syntax.
Appliance and virtual WAF
Fortinet FortiWeb ships as hardware, a virtual machine or a cloud service, and Imperva also deploys on premises. This route suits regulated environments that must keep inspection inside their own network, with the patching and tuning staff that implies. Throughput licensing governs sizing.
Facts at a glance
| Tool | Publisher | Based in | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link11 WAAP | Link11 | Germany | Trial + API |
| Sucuri Website Firewall | GoDaddy Mediatemple, Inc. (d/b/a Sucuri) | United States | Paid |
| Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service | Barracuda Networks, Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Imperva WAF | Imperva | United States | Trial + API |
| Fortinet FortiWeb | Fortinet, Inc. | United States | Paid + API |
| Fastly Next-Gen WAF | Fastly, Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Azure Web Application Firewall | Microsoft | United States | Trial + API |
| Akamai App & API Protector | Akamai Technologies, Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Cloudflare WAF | Cloudflare, Inc. | United States | Free tier + API |
| AWS WAF | Amazon Web Services | United States | Paid + API |
| Indusface AppTrana | Indusface | Not stated on the pages read | Trial |
