Malicious API attacks rose 681% in 2021 even with security measures in place and are predicted to become the primary attack vector in 2022.
You'll need to tighten your API management to boost your security posture. API throttling and rate-limiting are two important concepts for managing APIs.
But what exactly is the difference between them? And why does it matter?
What is Rate Limiting?
Rate limiting is a technique used to control the number of requests a user can make to an API over a given period of time. It's usually used to prevent abuse or misuse of the API.
There are two ways to limit the amount of traffic your website gets: use existing rate limiting features in web servers or build your own for more security and control over traffic.
Example of Rate Limiting
Mulesoft's rate limiting policy starts with the basics needed for any rate limit. You'll need to determine the number of requests, specify the time period allowed per request, and what unit of time it will be measured in.
What is API Throttling?
API throttling is a technique used to control the amount of traffic that an API can handle and is typically used in conjunction with rate limiting. It's used to prevent overloading the server or network the API is hosted on.
For this technique, servers enforce throttling policies on the client. By limiting the number of requests that a user can make, you ensure that the API is responsive and available for all users.
Example of API Throttling
Amazon Web Services (AWS) uses throttling techniques across many of its APIs. In fact, it uses two different methods to throttle requests to HTTP APIs. They allow account-level throttling per region (the default setting) or route-level throttling.
This is what a custom route-level throttling would look like using AWS CLI:
Why Does This Difference Matter?
So, what's the difference between these two techniques? And why does it matter? We've put together this quick chart to note the major differences between the two.
| API Throttling | API Rate Limiting |
This technique is used to manage resources at… | Server or network level | User or client level |
The main goal is to ensure… | The API can handle the traffic it's receiving. | A user doesn't make too many requests to the API to abuse or misuse it. |
How is it implemented? | By setting a limit on the number of requests that can be made to the API within a certain time period. | By setting a limit on the number and speed of requests that a user can make to the API within a specific time period. |
What happens when the limit is reached? | No more requests will be processed until the time period expires or the client pays for more API calls. | No more requests will be processed until the time period expires. |
API throttling and rate-limiting are both critical techniques for managing APIs. Which one you use depends on your particular needs and requirements.
Understanding the difference between them is essential to ensure that you're using the right technique for your API.
While many businesses use these features through their gateway, they often lack a cohesive dashboard that lets them manage them with ease. API portals fix this problem by providing functionality to product owners who aren't constantly on management platforms.
Why Do Businesses Implement Rate Limiting?
Businesses have a variety of reasons to impose rate limits on their APIs. The most common reasons include:
They don't want to overwhelm their systems. The goal of any system is to provide high-quality service for all clients, but this can't happen if a single client floods the server with requests. This would drive down traffic and affect other customers' experience as well.
They don't want to breach SLAs. Systems and networks must be able to handle a certain amount of traffic without breaking down. To do this, system owners control their client's rates, so they stay within expected bounds for service-level agreements (SLA).
System owners want to control their operating expenses. This is especially true if an API consumes large amounts of resources or it's linked with another 'paid' service, like cloud storage services do in some cases (think Dropbox).
Why Do Businesses Implement API Throttling?
When implementing throttling, it's essential to strike a balance between protecting your API and ensuring that it remains accessible to all users.
Different goals can lead organizations in deciding what type and how much they should throttle their APIs, including:
Security: It's useful in preventing malicious overloads or DoS attacks on a system with limited bandwidth.
Performance and Scalability: Throttling helps prevent system performance degradation by limiting excess usage, allowing you to define the requests per second.
Monetization: With API throttling, your business can control the amount of data sent and received through its monetized APIs.
If you throttle too aggressively, you may find that legitimate users cannot use your API. On the other hand, if you don't throttle at all, you risk having your API abused or misused.
The best way to determine the right amount of throttling for your API is to experiment and monitor the usage of your API. Start with a low limit, and then gradually increase it as needed. Pay attention to how your API is used, and look for any signs of abuse or misuse.
Get Unprecedented Flexibility With API Portals
API Portals are key to providing you with unprecedented levels of flexibility when it comes to rate limiting and throttling. They also allow granular access control, so you don't have to worry about blocking out your users.
Apiboost is an API portal solution designed for scaling your APIs and increasing your time-to-market. Since Apiboost supports SSO and CI/CD capabilities, you can start automation immediately.
Learn more about API portals by reaching out to one of our API specialists.
