In an increasingly connected digital ecosystem, managing API traffic efficiently and responsibly is essential to ensure system reliability, prevent abuse, and maintain service level agreements (SLAs). Rate limiting is a key strategy to control how frequently clients can access an API or a service. Within SAP Cloud Platform Integration (CPI), implementing rate limiting is vital for protecting backend systems, third-party APIs, and the integration landscape itself.
This article explains the concept of rate limiting, why it’s important in SAP CPI, and how to design integration flows that respect and implement rate control mechanisms.
Rate limiting is the process of controlling the number of requests a client can make to a system or service within a given time frame (e.g., 100 requests per minute). It helps:
SAP CPI serves as a central integration hub, handling traffic between SAP and non-SAP systems, including cloud services like SuccessFactors, Salesforce, and external REST APIs. Many of these systems enforce rate limits — exceeding them can lead to throttling, failures, or temporary service blocks.
Implementing rate limiting in CPI ensures that:
SAP CPI does not have a built-in rate limiting policy engine like API Management tools. However, you can implement rate limiting behavior within your iFlows using several design patterns and approaches.
Use a Timer or Delay step in combination with looping or iterative processing to control how frequently calls are made.
Use Case: Sending 1 request per second to an external API.
Use Groovy scripts to control call frequency or add wait conditions based on counters and timestamps.
Example:
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
def lastCall = message.getProperty("lastCallTimestamp") ?: 0
def currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis()
def interval = 1000 // milliseconds
if ((currentTime - lastCall.toLong()) < interval) {
TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.sleep(interval - (currentTime - lastCall.toLong()))
}
message.setProperty("lastCallTimestamp", System.currentTimeMillis())
return message
For more sophisticated rate control:
Although CPI doesn’t offer native rate limit monitoring dashboards, you can:
While SAP CPI doesn’t provide out-of-the-box rate limiting features, with smart flow design and careful use of timers, scripting, and external tools, integration developers can effectively implement and enforce rate limits. Doing so protects systems from overload, aligns with external service policies, and ensures sustainable, scalable integration practices.
In more advanced scenarios, combining CPI with SAP API Management enables policy-based rate limiting with analytics, authentication, and security enforcement — offering the best of both control and flexibility.