Throttling APIs

Overview

Implement API throttling policies that protect backend services from overload by controlling request concurrency, queue depth, and processing rates. Apply backpressure mechanisms including concurrent request limits, priority queues, circuit breakers, and adaptive throttling that adjusts limits based on real-time backend health metrics.

Prerequisites

• Middleware-capable web framework (Express, FastAPI, Spring Boot, Gin)
• Redis or in-memory store for distributed throttle state tracking
• Monitoring system exposing backend latency and error rate metrics (Prometheus, CloudWatch)
• Load testing tool (k6, Artillery, wrk) for validating throttle behavior under pressure
• Queue system for request buffering during throttle events (optional: Bull, SQS)

Instructions