Question 1

How to deploy Gubernator in Kubernetes?

Accepted Answer

Use the provided k8s-deployment.yaml file, which includes a headless service spec. Edit environment variables for peer discovery, typically using the Kubernetes EndpointSlice API, and apply with kubectl create -f.

Question 2

Gubernator vs Redis for rate limiting?

Accepted Answer

Gubernator is stateless and eliminates Redis dependencies, offering better scalability in cloud-native setups, but Redis might be simpler for small-scale or existing cache-heavy deployments. Gubernator excels in high-throughput environments with its distributed architecture.

Question 3

What algorithms does Gubernator support?

Accepted Answer

It supports Token Bucket for bursty limits and Leaky Bucket for metering. The algorithm is configurable per request via the algorithm field, with details in the README's rate limit algorithm section.

Question 4

How does peer discovery work in Gubernator?

Accepted Answer

It uses etcd, Kubernetes EndpointSlice API, or round-robin DNS for peer discovery. Each method requires specific environment variables, like GUBER_ETCD_ENDPOINTS or GUBER_DNS_FQDN, as outlined in the deployment section.

Question 5

Can Gubernator persist rate limits to disk?

Accepted Answer

Not out-of-the-box; persistence requires implementing the Store or Loader interfaces in Go. The library provides hooks for this, but it's optional and adds development overhead.

Question 6

What is the performance impact of using Gubernator?

Accepted Answer

Minimal in high-throughput setups; production data shows over 2,000 requests per second with sub-millisecond latency. However, batching can add microseconds of delay, so tune behavior based on throughput needs.

Question 7

How to integrate Gubernator with a Python service?

Accepted Answer

Use the HTTP or gRPC APIs exposed by Gubernator. For HTTP, send JSON requests to /v1/GetRateLimits; for gRPC, generate client stubs from the ProtoBuf definitions. This requires running Gubernator as a separate service.

Gubernator

What is Gubernator?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

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Pros & Cons

Pros

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Frequently Asked Questions