Airbnb evolved their key-value store (Mussel) from simple QPS-based rate limiting to a sophisticated multi-layered traffic management system. The new approach uses resource-aware rate control that charges requests in units reflecting actual backend cost (rows, bytes, latency), implements load shedding with criticality tiers to
Table of contents
IntroductionBackground: Life with Client Quota Rate LimiterResource-aware rate controlGet Shravan Gaonkar’s stories in your inboxLoad shedding: Staying healthy when capacity evaporates or develops hotspotsHot-key detection and DDoS defenceReal-time detection in constant spaceLocal caching and request coalescingImpact in productionRetrospective and key takeaways📚 ReferencesSort: