Request Processing Time Anomalies Indicating Code Issues
warninglatencyUpdated Apr 29, 2025
Sudden spikes in tomcat_max_time or tomcat_servlet_max_time that don't correlate with increased traffic suggest inefficient code, slow external dependencies, or infrastructure issues affecting specific request paths.
Sources
How to detect:
Monitor tomcat_max_time and tomcat_servlet_max_time for values exceeding baseline thresholds. Use anomaly detection on tomcat_processing_time and tomcat_servlet_processing_time. Cross-reference spikes with tomcat_request count to rule out traffic-related causes.
Recommended action:
Analyze catalina.out logs for exceptions during spike periods. Use distributed tracing (OpenTelemetry) to identify slow operations across the request path. Review localhost_access_log for URLs with high response times. Profile code to identify slow methods or queries.