How can I differentiate between legitimate traffic spikes and a real DDoS attack during a free online test?

Distinguishing legitimate traffic from a DDoS attack during a test requires careful analysis. Legitimate traffic usually follows predictable patterns, while DDoS attacks tend to be sudden and concentrated. Analyze traffic sources, user agents, and request patterns. Use anomaly detection tools to identify unusual activity. Check for patterns of requests from the same IP address or range of addresses. Correlate traffic data with other metrics, such as CPU usage and error rates.