How to Fix Office 365 Backup Throttling Issues

Office 365 has emerged as the preferred platform for collaboration, file storage, and business communication. Backing up is now required because there is so much data in one location. Throttling, however, is a bothersome obstacle for many administrators.

Throttling can be the cause if your Office 365 backups operate excruciatingly slowly or even stop working in the middle and let's discuss what throttling is why it occurs, and how to prevent or at least mitigate it.

What is Office 365 Backup Throttling?

Throttling is used by Microsoft to manage the amount of traffic on its server; simply expressed, it limits the amount of data that a single user or application may access at the same time.

Fair usage is the aim. Microsoft does not want any one tenant or backup program to consume all the bandwidth. However, the outcome is timeouts, unfinished jobs, or slower backups.

Indications that you could be experiencing throttling-

• The backup pace is far slower than anticipated.
• After a given amount of time or size, jobs fail.

Error codes about Graph API restrictions or EWS (Exchange Web Services) are displayed.

Why Does Microsoft Throttle Backups?

It isn't intimate. Everyone is subject to throttling. Typical triggers include the following-

• Taking up too much information at once
• Executing extensive backups during business peak hours
• Using antiquated techniques, such as EWS, rather than contemporary APIs
• Linking several users' mailboxes together in one session

Office 365 is stable for all tenants thanks to throttling. However, it also makes it difficult for IT personnel to protect data.

How to Fix or Reduce Throttling Issues

Completely turning off throttling is impossible. But with clever tactics, you can lessen its effects.

Use Modern Authentication and APIs

It is common for EWS and other outdated protocols to approach throttling limits faster. The Microsoft Graph API is intended to be less constrictive and more effective. Upgrade to a backup tool that supports Graph if your current one still largely depends on EWS.

Run Backups in Off-Peak Hours

Active users compete with backups during work hours. Limits are less likely to be reached when jobs are scheduled for the weekend or night.

Apply Incremental Backups

Instead of periodically extracting entire mailboxes, use incremental backups. Only updated or new data is copied here. It is lighter, quicker, and less prone to causing throttling.

Using Multiple Service Accounts

Distribute the burden among multiple admin accounts rather than directing it all through one. By doing this, one account won't be throttled excessively.

Monitor Throttling Policies

Watch for updates from Microsoft. Periodically, they modify policies or guidelines for using APIs. Staying current helps you make the most of your backup plan.

Choose a Reliable Backup Tool

It matters what tool you use. Well-designed software can elegantly deal with throttling. It might have support for contemporary APIs, incremental backup choices, and built-in retry logic.

An application like Softaken Office 365 Backup, for instance, can be beneficial. It's designed to function within Microsoft's constraints while allowing you to choose what and when to backup. Although they don't eliminate throttling, tools like this facilitate the process.

What Not to Do

A few typical errors might exacerbate throttling:

• Exporting the entire mailbox every time
• Performing backups from a single computer or user
• Disregarding work setbacks without trying again
• Utilizing antiquated tools that are incompatible with the Graph API.

Time and bandwidth can be saved by avoiding these problems.

Conclusion

Although it can be annoying, throttling is a necessary component of using cloud systems. Instead of battling it, you should modify your backup procedure to accommodate it.

You can prevent unending delays in protecting your Office 365 data by using the appropriate timing, incremental techniques, and backup software.

In the end, backups are for your own comfort. It could be time to reconsider how and with what you're operating them if throttling is a problem.