Unexpected traffic spikes to AEM-managed pages behind the Adobe Commerce CDN
This article explains how to investigate significant and unexpected traffic increases to Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)-managed pages when the domain is served through the Adobe Commerce CDN. To fix this, confirm CDN ownership, review available traffic data, analyze request characteristics, contact Adobe Commerce Support when deeper CDN analysis or mitigation is required, and monitor traffic after mitigation.
Description description
Environment
- Adobe Experience Manager-managed pages
- Domain served through the Adobe Commerce CDN
- Traffic analysis performed through the available AEM-side and Adobe Commerce CDN tools
Issue/Symptoms
- Unexpected web-traffic spikes affect site performance and analytics.
- Detailed traffic-pattern visibility from the AEM platform is limited when the domain is served through the Adobe Commerce CDN.
- Requests to specific pages increase suddenly.
- The requests include unusual
User-Agentstrings or originate from a wide range of IP addresses. - The source and nature of the traffic require investigation before mitigation is selected.
Cause
The available traffic data is split between AEM and the Adobe Commerce CDN. When the Adobe Commerce CDN manages the domain, AEM-side tools don’t provide complete visibility into all traffic patterns. The request characteristics must therefore be reviewed using the traffic data available for the responsible delivery layer.
Resolution resolution
Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:
- Confirm CDN ownership by determining whether the affected domain is managed by the AEM CDN or the Adobe Commerce CDN. Check the domain-management or hosting configuration.
- Review the available traffic data using AEM-side tools and any available Adobe Commerce CDN traffic data. Note: When the domain is managed by the Adobe Commerce CDN, AEM doesn’t provide complete visibility into all traffic data.
- Analyze the available request data for unusual
User-Agentstrings, including uncommon browser versions, a high volume of requests from a wide range of IP addresses, and repeated access to specific endpoints. Use these characteristics to assess whether the traffic is automated. - If the domain is managed by the Adobe Commerce CDN and deeper analysis or mitigation is required, contact Adobe Support for Adobe Commerce. Provide the affected URLs, observed traffic patterns, and findings from the initial investigation.
- After mitigation or Adobe Support engagement, monitor traffic to confirm that the spike has been addressed and normal traffic patterns have resumed.