Rate Limiting a REST API

Rate limiting is critical for protecting REST APIs from abuse, excessive requests, and DoS attacks. It ensures fair resource usage and prevents server overload.

📌 What is Rate Limiting?

Rate limiting restricts the number of API requests a client can make within a specific time window.

✅ Example:

• Limit: 100 requests per minute
• Client Exceeds Limit? Returns 429 Too Many Requests

🔹 Why is Rate Limiting Important?

✅ Prevents API abuse — Blocks bots and spammers.
✅ Protects against DoS attacks — Stops malicious clients from overwhelming the server.
✅ Ensures fair usage — Prevents one client from consuming all resources.
✅ Improves API performance — Reduces server load.

💡 Example Scenario:

• A banking API allows users to check account balance.
• Without rate limiting, malicious users can flood the API with unlimited requests, slowing down services.
• With rate limiting, each user is restricted to 10 requests per minute, preventing abuse.

✅ Solution? Implement API rate limiting!

🔹 How to Implement Rate Limiting in Spring Boot?