Centinel AnalyticaCentinel Analytica
Platforms

Akamai EdgeWorkers

Deploy Centinel Analytica on your Akamai property using EdgeWorkers.

Overview

This guide walks through deploying Centinel Analytica server-side validation on Akamai using EdgeWorkers. Property Manager changes take 15-30 minutes to propagate across the Akamai network.

Prerequisites

  • Centinel secret key
  • Akamai Control Center access
  • Property Manager access for the property you want to protect
Download the package
  1. Download centinel-akamai-edgeworker.tar.gz.
  2. Extract the archive to get main.js and bundle.json.
Create the EdgeWorker
  1. Log into Akamai Control Center.
  2. Go to CDN → EdgeWorkers.
  3. Click Create EdgeWorker ID.
  4. Enter a name (e.g. centinel-protection).
  5. Select your Group and Resource tier.
  6. Click Create EdgeWorker ID.
Upload the code
  1. Select the EdgeWorker you just created.
  2. Click Create Version.
  3. Upload the main.js and bundle.json files.
  4. Click Create Version.
Configure the validator route

The EdgeWorker calls the Centinel validator via an internal path. You need to route /centinel-validate to the Centinel API.

  1. Go to CDN → Properties and select your property.
  2. Click Edit New Version to create a draft.
  3. Under Property Configuration, click Add Rule.
  4. Name the rule Centinel Validator.
  5. Add a Criteria:
    • Match Type: Path
    • Match Operator: matches one of
    • Value: /centinel-validate
  6. Add a BehaviorOrigin Server:
    • Origin Server Hostname: validator.centinelanalytica.com
    • Forward Host Header: Origin Hostname
    • Origin SSL Certificate Verification: Yes
  7. Add a BehaviorModify Outgoing Request Path:
    • Action: Replace Entire Path
    • Replace With: /validate
  8. Add a BehaviorCaching:
    • Caching Option: No Store
  9. Click Save.

Watch out

Make sure the EdgeWorker behavior is not applied to the /centinel-validate rule—otherwise you'll create a recursion loop.

Set Property Manager variables
  1. In your property configuration, go to Property Variables.
  2. Add:
VariableValue
PMUSER_EW_CENTINEL_SECRET_KEYYour Centinel secret key
  1. (Optional) Add additional variables from the Configuration Reference below.
  2. Click Save.

Variable visibility

Set variables to Hidden (not Sensitive) in Property Manager. Hidden variables are readable by EdgeWorkers but won't be logged. Sensitive variables can't be read by EdgeWorker code at all.

Attach the EdgeWorker
  1. In your property, add or edit a rule where you want Centinel protection.
  2. Add a BehaviorEdgeWorkers.
  3. Select your centinel-protection EdgeWorker ID.
  4. Click Save.

Scope

Apply the EdgeWorker to your default rule to protect all paths, or add it to specific rules to protect only certain parts of your site.

Activate the property
  1. Click Activate in Property Manager.
  2. Select Staging for initial testing, or Production when ready.
  3. Add activation notes and click Activate.
  4. Wait for activation to complete (15-30 minutes).
Verify deployment
  • Browse your site to confirm traffic flows normally.
  • Check that static assets (.js, .css, .png, etc.) load without delays.
  • Set PMUSER_EW_CENTINEL_ENABLE_LOGGING to true and check the X-Centinel-Log response header for validation outcomes.

Configuration reference

Required variables

VariableTypeDescription
PMUSER_EW_CENTINEL_SECRET_KEYstringYour Centinel secret key for API authentication.

Optional variables

VariableTypeDefaultDescription
PMUSER_EW_CENTINEL_CLIENT_IPstringrequest.clientIpOverride client IP for validation. Defaults to Akamai's built-in client IP detection.
PMUSER_EW_CENTINEL_PROTECTED_PATHS_INCLUSIONstringRegex pattern to protect only matching paths. Leave empty to protect all.
PMUSER_EW_CENTINEL_PROTECTED_PATHS_EXCLUSIONstringRegex pattern to skip validation. Static assets are excluded by default.

Notes

  • Timeout: Fixed at 500ms in v3.0.0. Not configurable via variables.
  • Logging: Uses Akamai's built-in logger module. Check EdgeWorker logs in Control Center.

Changelog

  • 3.0.0 (2026-01-19) - Timeout set to 500ms, refactored logging, removed configurable timeout variable.
  • 2.0.1 - Refactored logging, better error handling.
  • 2.0.0 - Better cookie handling, improved validation flow.
  • 1.0.0 - Initial release.

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