Throttling is a mechanism to control the rate at which requests are processed to ensure system stability and prevent overloading. This is especially crucial in large-scale, distributed environments where numerous services interact, and unregulated traffic can lead to low performance or system failure.
- Rate Limiting: Controls the number of requests a client can make in a given time period. For example, limiting to 100 requests per minute.
- Leaky Bucket: Enqueues requests and processes them at a fixed rate, ensuring that incoming bursts are smoothed out over time.
- Token Bucket: Allows bursts of traffic but enforces a maximum sustained request rate over time, using tokens that are replenished at a steady rate.
- Fixed Window: Divides time into fixed intervals and limits the number of requests in each interval.
- Sliding Window: A more dynamic version of the fixed window, which allows for a moving time window to better handle traffic spikes.
- Middleware: Implementing throttling logic in the middleware layer, which intercepts requests before they reach the core application logic.
- API Gateway: Using API gateways to enforce throttling policies centrally, providing a single point of control.
- Client-Side Throttling: Instructing clients to regulate their request rate to avoid overwhelming the server.
