Implement Microservices Load Shedding pattern

[iluwatar]

Description

The Microservices Load Shedding pattern ensures a system gracefully handles overload situations by rejecting or shedding excess requests once it hits a predefined capacity limit. By proactively managing incoming load, the system preserves resources for critical requests and avoids a complete meltdown under high or unexpected traffic spikes.

Key Elements

• Dynamic Throttling or Request Limiting: Automatically rejecting new requests when system capacity is reached.
• Fail-Fast Mechanisms: Quickly responding with error codes or fallback responses, rather than letting requests queue indefinitely.
• Monitoring & Capacity Management: Observing real-time traffic and system metrics to adjust thresholds.

References

1. Microservices.io – Load Shedding Pattern
2. Release It! by Michael T. Nygard
3. Java Design Patterns – Contribution Guidelines

Acceptance Criteria

• Create a new module or package named microservices-load-shedding (or similar).
• Demonstrate how to detect and shed excess load (e.g., using a request queue with a maximum capacity).
• Provide logic for fast failure or fallback responses when capacity is exceeded.
• Include a README (or .md file) explaining the pattern, its benefits, and sample code.
• Verify the implementation with tests simulating both normal load and overload scenarios.
• Ensure conformance with repository standards and that all CI checks pass.

[naman-sriv]

Hello @iluwatar , i would like to attempt this issue, it will be a good opportunity to learn as well.