How do I prevent "ThrottlingException" errors that show "Rate exceeded" when I use Parameter Store?

Short description

Parameter Store API calls can't exceed the maximum allowed API request rate for each AWS account and each AWS Region. The maximum allowed rate includes API calls from both the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) and the AWS Management Console.

If API requests exceed the maximum rate, then you might see an error message that's similar to one of the following:

• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the GetParameters operation (reached max retries: 4): Rate exceeded"
• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the GetParameter operation (reached max retries: 4): Rate exceeded"
• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the GetParametersByPath operation (reached max retries: 4): Rate exceeded"
• "An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the DescribeParameters operation (reached max retries: 2): Rate exceeded"

To help service performance, Parameter Store throttles requests for each account and Region. For more information about Parameter Store API maximum throughput quotas, see Service quotas for Parameter Store.

Resolution

Note: If you receive errors when you run AWS CLI commands, then see Troubleshooting errors for the AWS CLI. Also, make sure that you're using the most recent AWS CLI version.

Troubleshooting

To prevent "ThrottlingException" error messages that include "Rate exceeded", take the following actions:

• Reduce the frequency of the API calls.
• Set up the intervals of the API calls so that they don't all run at the same time.
• Use APIs that return more than one value. For example, GetParameters and GetParametersByPath can retrieve 10 parameters with one API call.
• Implement error retries and exponential backoff when you make API calls. For instructions, see Retry behavior.
• If you use AWS Lambda to call APIs against Parameter Store, then cache your parameters.
• Increase Parameter Store throughput.
  Important: When you increase throughput, you incur a charge on your account. For more information, see AWS Systems Manager pricing.

Request a service quota increase

If you tried the preceding troubleshooting methods but still receive "Rate exceeded" errors, then you can request a service quota increase.

Note: Before you submit a request, identify the API call and call rate.

To request a service quota increase for Parameter Store, complete the following steps:

1. Open the AWS Support Center Console, and then choose Create case.
2. Choose Looking for service limit increases?.
3. For Limit type, choose EC2 Systems Manager.
4. For Region, choose your Region under Requests.
5. For Resource Type, choose Parameter Store.
6. For Quota, select an item, and then describe the reason for your API quota increase in the Use case description text box.
   Note: There's no applicable item for the maximum transactions per second of API calls.
7. Enter the new quota value.
8. In the Use case description text box, include the time frame that's related to the throttling issue and the reason for the quota increase request.
9. Choose your preferred contact options, and then choose Submit.

Related information

Exponential backoff and jitter

Troubleshooting Parameter Store