When to use Request timeout and Gateway timeout

Question

I am writing a wrapper over a Third party API.

If I don't get response for certain time I throw the gateway timeout exception.

But i can see there is one more HttpStatus.REQUEST_TIMEOUT other than HttpStatus.GATEWAY_TIMEOUT

I don't know which one to use and when.

Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Once your server is acting as a gateway or proxy of an upstream server, you should use 504 to indicate that the connection has timed out. See how this status code is defined:

6.6.5. 504 Gateway Timeout

The 504 (Gateway Timeout) status code indicates that the server, while acting as a gateway or proxy, did not receive a timely response from an upstream server it needed to access in order to complete the request.

The 408 status code has a completed different meaning and indicates that the server would like to shut down an unused connection with the client:

6.5.7. 408 Request Timeout

The 408 (Request Timeout) status code indicates that the server did not receive a complete request message within the time that it was prepared to wait. A server SHOULD send the "close" connection option in the response, since 408 implies that the server has decided to close the connection rather than continue waiting. If the client has an outstanding request in transit, the client MAY repeat that request on a new connection.