Problem: Amazon Bedrock Returns "ThrottlingException: Rate limit exceeded"

Problem: Amazon Bedrock Returns "ThrottlingException: Rate limit exceeded"

When using Amazon Bedrock, you might encounter the following error:

$ aws bedrock list-foundation-models --region us-east-1

An error occurred (ThrottlingException) when calling the 
ListFoundationModels operation:Rate limit exceeded

Issue: This error occurs when the request rate exceeds Amazon Bedrock’s API throttling limits. Common causes include:

• Excessive API requests – Too many requests in a short time.
• Low service quotas – AWS imposes request limits per account.
• Concurrent requests – Multiple processes calling the same API simultaneously.
• Account-specific restrictions – AWS may enforce limits based on past usage.

Fix: Implement Rate-Limiting Best Practices

Bash

# Step 1: Check AWS Service Quotas for Bedrock API Rate Limits
# This command retrieves the current API request limit for Amazon Bedrock
aws service-quotas get-service-quota \
    --service-code bedrock \
    --quota-code L-BEDROCK-REQUESTS-PER-MINUTE

# Expected Output (Example)
{
    "Quota": {
        "ServiceCode": "bedrock",
        "QuotaName": "Requests per minute",
        "Value": 50  # Your current API request limit
    }
}

# Step 2: Request a Quota Increase (if necessary)
# If your request limit is too low, request an increase
aws service-quotas request-service-quota-increase \
    --service-code bedrock \
    --quota-code L-BEDROCK-REQUESTS-PER-MINUTE \
    --desired-value 100

# Step 3: Monitor Pending Quota Increase Requests
# Check the status of your quota increase request
aws service-quotas list-requested-service-quota-change-history-by-service \
    --service-code bedrock

# Step 4: Monitor API Usage & Throttling with CloudWatch
# This command retrieves the number of throttled API requests in the last 5 minutes
aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics \
  --namespace "AWS/Bedrock" \
  --metric-name "ThrottledRequests" \
  --start-time "$(date -u -d '-5 minutes' +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
  --end-time "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
  --period 60 \
  --statistics Sum

# Expected Output (Example if throttling occurred)
{
    "Datapoints": [
        {
            "Timestamp": "2024-02-19T12:00:00Z",
            "Sum": 10,  # Number of throttled requests in the time period
            "Unit": "Count"
        }
    ],
    "Label": "ThrottledRequests"
}

# Step 5: Retry API Calls with Exponential Backoff (Python)
# This script implements exponential backoff to handle throttling errors
import time
import boto3

client = boto3.client("bedrock", region_name="us-east-1")

def list_models_with_backoff(retries=5, delay=1):
    for attempt in range(retries):
        try:
            response = client.list_foundation_models()
            return response
        except client.exceptions.ThrottlingException:
            wait_time = delay * (2 ** attempt)  # Exponential backoff logic
            print(f"Rate limit exceeded. Retrying in {wait_time} seconds...")
            time.sleep(wait_time)

    raise Exception("Exceeded retry attempts due to throttling.")

list_models_with_backoff()

# Step 6: Retry Your API Call
# Once you've implemented backoff or increased your quota, try the command again
aws bedrock list-foundation-models --region us-east-1

Need AWS Expertise?

If you're looking for guidance on Amazon Bedrock or any cloud challenges, feel free to reach out! We'd love to help you tackle your Bedrock projects. 🚀

Email us at: info@pacificw.com

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