A new HTTP response code for "OK but busy"

It would be nice to detect when the server is unusually busy and 
indicate in the response that the client should retry later, but in a 
way that indicates the response content is not an error.

HTTP 429 (too many requests) and HTTP 503 (server unavailable) are not 
really relevant as they suggest there is an error.

It would be useful to have something like HTTP 229 that means "Ok, but 
busy". The response would include a Retry-After header, and the body 
would be a normal response body as if an HTTP 200 was received.

The meaning of this response is that the content fulfils the request, 
but the server is "busy", and that future requests before the 
Retry-After header might be rejected.

The server is not required to (and should not) explain why it is busy. 
It may be due to high CPU load, high memory usage, or too many requests, 
or too many requests from a specific agent or network.

The client should not infer anything other than the response body is 
useful but to discontinue making additional requests until after the 
recommended time.

Received on Thursday, 28 November 2024 11:18:26 UTC