APIs & Integration
Throughput
How much work or how many requests a system can handle in a period of time.
Example
A service processes 200 document pages each second.
Why it matters
It helps plan how much work a service can complete over time.
You'll hear it
“Can the service handle the volume we expect each hour?”
Can you control it?
Not directly
No, not directly. Throughput describes a learned property, observed result, or broader concept rather than a normal user setting. You may influence it indirectly by changing the tool, data, prompt, or workflow.
Common questions
- Does high throughput guarantee fast individual replies?
- No. Many requests can be processed while each still experiences a delay.
- Can harder tasks reduce throughput?
- Yes. Requests that need more processing can lower the number completed in the same period.
- Should all requests be counted as equal work?
- Not necessarily. Their size and complexity can differ substantially.