Read Timeout

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Set a read timeout to determine how long the edge server should wait for a response from the requesting forward server after a connection has already been established.

How it works

If the edge server doesn't receive a response from your origin before the timeout expiration, a 504 Gateway Timeout error is returned to the client. You can also specify an amount of time an edge server should wait for the first byte of the response from your origin server. You can include this behavior to override the default timeout that a requesting client, such as a browser uses. For example, you could:

Set a shorter time so an end user isn't waiting too long for your requested content and instead is sent an error so they can retry the request.
Set a longer time if you don't want a browser to use its default timeout and timeout too early.

Note that this timeout is separate from the Connect Timeout behavior. Connect Timeout covers the time it takes for a connection to be established between the edge server and your origin server, before the edge server even sends the request.

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You should contact your Akamai account team for help configuring this behavior.

Features and options

Field	What it does
Timeout	Larger objects may require multiple reads and this timeout applies to each read separately. Any failure to complete a read within this time limit aborts the request and sends a 504 Gateway Timeout error to the client. Set the read timeout from 1 through 600 seconds, or from 1 through 10 minutes. This value should never be zero. The default value is 5 seconds.
First Byte Timeout	The amount of time an edge server should wait for the first byte of the response to be returned from the forward server after a connection has already been established. Instead of continually waiting for the content, edge servers send a 504 Gateway Timeout error to the client. If your origin server is handling high loads and might respond slowly, specify a short timeout. Set this from 1 through 600 seconds, or from 1 through 10 minutes. This value should never be zero. The default value is 20 seconds.

Field

What it does

Timeout

Larger objects may require multiple reads and this timeout applies to each read separately. Any failure to complete a read within this time limit aborts the request and sends a 504 Gateway Timeout error to the client.

Set the read timeout from 1 through 600 seconds, or from 1 through 10 minutes. This value should never be zero. The default value is 5 seconds.

First Byte Timeout

The amount of time an edge server should wait for the first byte of the response to be returned from the forward server after a connection has already been established. Instead of continually waiting for the content, edge servers send a 504 Gateway Timeout error to the client. If your origin server is handling high loads and might respond slowly, specify a short timeout.

Set this from 1 through 600 seconds, or from 1 through 10 minutes. This value should never be zero. The default value is 20 seconds.

Updated 4 months ago