What is the OCI Web Application Firewall (WAF) designed to do?

The OCI Web Application Firewall (WAF) is specifically designed to protect web applications from common cyber threats and attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other vulnerabilities. By monitoring and filtering HTTP(s) traffic between a web application and the Internet, WAF helps to identify and mitigate malicious traffic before it reaches the application. This is crucial in maintaining the security and integrity of web applications, safeguarding sensitive data, and ensuring that application services remain available and reliable.

The other options do not relate to the WAF's primary purpose. Enhancing database performance pertains to database management and optimization techniques rather than web application security. Managing network configurations involves setting up and maintaining network infrastructure, which is separate from the security measures provided by WAF. Optimizing storage usage deals with data management strategies rather than the protection of applications from security threats. Thus, the functionality of the OCI WAF is focused on defending web applications, making it an essential role in modern cloud security architecture.