Rate limiting

Jan 1, 0001

Definition

Rate limiting is a technique used to control the amount of incoming or outgoing traffic to or from a network, application, or API. It helps prevent abuse, mitigate denial-of-service attacks, and ensure fair resource distribution by setting a threshold on the number of requests a client can make within a specified time frame. Implementing rate limiting is crucial for maintaining service availability and protecting backend resources from being overwhelmed.

Secure Settings Example

# Example of rate limiting configuration in an NGINX server
http {
    limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=mylimit:10m rate=10r/s;

    server {
        location /api/ {
            limit_req zone=mylimit burst=20 nodelay;
            proxy_pass http://backend;
        }
    }
}

Insecure Settings Example

# Example of an insecure rate limiting configuration
http {
    # No rate limiting configured, allowing unlimited requests
    server {
        location /api/ {
            proxy_pass http://backend;
        }
    }
}