hermes - 💡(How to fix) Fix reliability(server): implement request timeout middleware to prevent hanging connections [1 comments, 2 participants]

TL;DR

Implement a timeout middleware to prevent long-running requests from tying up server resources.

Guidance

• Identify the maximum allowed request time (e.g., 30 seconds) and implement a timeout middleware using a library like connect-timeout.
• Consider sending a 503 Service Unavailable or 408 Request Timeout response when the request exceeds the threshold.
• Review the server/src/app.ts file to determine the best location for the timeout middleware.
• Test the implementation to ensure it correctly handles long-running requests and sends the desired response.

Example

const timeout = require('connect-timeout');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.use(timeout('30s')); // 30 seconds
app.use(haltOnTimedout);

function haltOnTimedout(req, res, next) {
  if (!req.timedout) next();
  else res.send(408, 'Request Timeout');
}

Notes

The choice of timeout value and response code may vary depending on the specific application requirements.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Implement a timeout middleware to prevent long-running requests from causing a Denial of Service (DoS). This will help mitigate the issue until a more permanent solution can be implemented.