This guide has everything you need to know about rate limiting, from a clear definition to some rate-limiting benefits and tips.
You’ve probably seen ‘rate limiting’ mentioned in the news recently. The reason behind this is Elon Musk.
At the start of July 2023, Elon Musk sent Twitter into meltdown (if you have a Twitter account, you’ll no doubt witnessed what went down). Musk rolled out ‘rate limits’ across Twitter, which meant that Twitter users could only read a limited number of tweets per day. Specifically, the numbers were:
- Verified Users: 6000 Tweets
- Non-Verified Users: 600 Tweets
This was met with extreme backlash, so Musk ultimately raised these numbers to keep Twitter users happy.
From the outside looking in, this whole situation is still a little confusing. What exactly is rate limiting? And why did Elon Musk implement rate limits on Twitter? All of this and more is answered below.
What is Rate Limiting?
Rate limiting is when restrictions are put on the number of requests that can be sent to an API. This helps to control ingoing and outgoing traffic from a website or app.
Rate limiting is used so that people and bots don’t overuse a website and its resources. Essentially, it’s like your favorite shop putting a limit on the number of times you can go inside it per week to buy clothes.
Here’s a look at some of the other benefits of rate limiting:
- Prevent unauthorized scraping of data
- Stop your system from being exhausted
- Block malicious bot activity and potential cyberattacks
A lot of the time, rate limits are implemented using service mesh products. If you decide to use a service mesh across your different microservices, you’ll be able to set rate limits and experience better traffic management. This’ll prevent your applications from becoming overloaded while ensuring that your end users continue having a smooth experience when using them.
Now, here are some rate limiting tips for you to follow.
Calculate Your Rate Limit
Don’t set randomly allocated rate limits; this is always a bad idea. Setting it too high can lead to your application becoming overloaded with users, while setting it too low can drive people away from your applications and even lead to your customers using rival applications instead.
The rate limits you choose should be based on the general number of users your website has as well as the available bandwidth. Naturally, the more popular your website is, the more carefully you’ll need to calculate your rate limits.
Scale Your Rate Limit
Over time, your business might grow in popularity, which naturally leads to more customers using your applications. For example, if your website goes viral overnight and suddenly explodes in popularity, you must scale your rate limit accordingly to prevent exhaustion. Otherwise, you’ll experience technical problems like site crashes and downtime.
Summary
Moving into the future, as the world becomes increasingly digital, you’re going to see ‘rate limits’ become increasingly more common. As a business owner or app developer, it’s recommended that you master rate limiting now to use it to your advantage and experience benefits as a result.
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