How LinkedIn Reduced Latency with JSON

LinkedIn switched from JSON to Protobuf to address performance issues in its microservices architecture. JSON, albeit human-readable and widely supported, led to increased network bandwidth usage and higher serialization/deserialization latency. After evaluating several alternatives, LinkedIn chose Protobuf due to its smaller payloads, faster serialization/deserialization, type safety, and extensive language support. This switch resulted in improved throughput and up to 60% latency reduction for large payloads.