All Products
Search
Document Center

Edge Security Acceleration:Timeout for HTTP requests to origin

Last Updated:Jun 17, 2026

A well-tuned origin request timeout balances response efficiency against connection usage. Too short a timeout causes frequent fetch failures during network fluctuations; too long a timeout ties up connections when the origin is slow or unresponsive, blocking normal request handling.

What is HTTP request time to origin

HTTP request time to origin measures how long a Layer 7 HTTP request takes from the ESA point of presence (POP) to the origin server. It does not include the time spent establishing a Layer 4 TCP connection to the origin.

image

Before you begin

ESA supports a maximum timeout of 300 seconds for the entire connection, covering paths within the ESA POP and between the ESA POP and the origin.

The default timeout is 30 seconds. A timeout no longer than 60 seconds is recommended.

Setup

  1. In the ESA console, select Websites, and in the Website column, click the target site.

  2. In the left navigation pane, choose Rules > Origin Rules.

  3. Click Create Rule and enter a Rule Name.

  4. Under If requests match..., set the match conditions for incoming requests. To learn more about creating a rule expression, see Composition of a rule expression.

  5. In the Origin Fetch Timeout section, click Configure. Enter the timeout period.

Related documentation

Rule-related features vary in effective priority, reentrancy, and effective granularity. For details, see Properties of Rule-Related Features.