API Fundamentals
/Intermediate
Rate Limiting
Definition
A technique used to control the rate of traffic sent or received by a network interface. It is used to prevent DoS attacks, brute-force login attempts, and excessive API usage.
Explain Like I'm New
The bouncer at a club. If you ask to get in once, he says yes. If you ask to get in 1,000 times in 10 seconds, he assumes you are a robot (or an attacker) and blocks you for 15 minutes.
Real World Example
Limiting the `/login` API endpoint to 5 requests per minute per IP address. If a hacker tries to guess passwords rapidly, they will quickly be locked out, receiving a `429 Too Many Requests` status code.
Common Use Cases
- •API monetization
- •Security against brute-force
- •Preventing server crashes
Interactive Example
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Interview Questions
basic
- What HTTP Status code should a server return when a user hits a rate limit?
intermediate
- If a malicious user uses 50,000 different IP addresses (a botnet) to bypass an IP-based rate limiter, how do you stop them?