Akamai Edge DNS vs NETSCOUT Arbor Threat Mitigation System: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Akamai Edge DNS

Mid-market and enterprise security teams defending against DNS-layer DDoS attacks will get the most from Akamai Edge DNS, particularly those running hybrid infrastructure where on-premises DNS needs the same attack surface hardening as cloud-facing services. The Shield NS53 reverse proxy handles both environments without forcing full migration to cloud DNS, and the 100% uptime SLA backed by IP anycast routing across Akamai's global network means your authoritative DNS stays available when attackers are actively flooding it. Skip this if your DNS traffic is light and you're comfortable with basic rate-limiting from your registrar; Edge DNS is built for organizations absorbing sustained volumetric attacks, not for complexity reduction.

NETSCOUT Arbor Threat Mitigation System

ISPs, cloud providers, and large enterprises absorbing sustained volumetric DDoS attacks need NETSCOUT Arbor Threat Mitigation System because it handles scale that most competitors can't touch; the system mitigates up to 50 Tbps in a single deployment while protecting against TCP state exhaustion and application-layer attacks simultaneously. The hybrid physical and virtual deployment model lets you meet NIST PR.IR infrastructure resilience requirements without ripping out existing on-premise gear. Skip this if you're a mid-market company with occasional attacks under 100 Gbps; you're paying for mitigation capacity you won't use, and simpler cloud-native alternatives will serve you better.