_NEXT_STEPS.md

Next Steps

Problem: reset_in_seconds always showing 0 when keys actually exist

Observed Behavior

API response shows:

{
  "per_second": {
    "calls_made": 0,
    "reset_in_seconds": 0,
    "status": "ACTIVE"
  },
  "per_minute": { ... },  // All periods show same pattern
  ...
}

All periods show reset_in_seconds: 0, BUT:

• Counters ARE persisting across calls (not resetting)
• Calls ARE being tracked and incremented
• This means Redis keys DO exist with valid TTL values

The issue: TTL is being reported as 0 when it should show actual seconds remaining.

What This Indicates

Since counters persist and don't reset between calls, we know:

1. ✓ Redis is working
2. ✓ Keys exist and are being tracked
3. ✓ incrementConsumerCounters is working correctly
4. ✗ getCallCounterForPeriod is NOT reading or normalizing TTL correctly

Debug Logging Added

Added logging to getCallCounterForPeriod to see raw Redis values:

logger.debug(s"getCallCounterForPeriod: period=$period, key=$key, raw ttlOpt=$ttlOpt")
logger.debug(s"getCallCounterForPeriod: period=$period, key=$key, raw valueOpt=$valueOpt")

Investigation Steps

1. Check the logs after making an API call

   • Look for "getCallCounterForPeriod" debug messages
   • What are the raw ttlOpt values from Redis?
   • Are they -2, -1, 0, or positive numbers?

2. Possible bugs in our normalization logic

   val normalizedTtl = ttlOpt match {
     case Some(-2) => Some(0L)              // Key doesn't exist -> 0
     case Some(ttl) if ttl <= 0 => Some(0L) // ← This might be too aggressive
     case Some(ttl) => Some(ttl)            // Should return actual TTL
     case None => Some(0L)                  // Redis unavailable
   }

   Question: Are we catching valid TTL values in the ttl <= 0 case incorrectly?

3. Check if there's a mismatch in key format

   • getCallCounterForPeriod uses: createUniqueKey(consumerKey, period)
   • incrementConsumerCounters uses: createUniqueKey(consumerKey, period)
   • Format: {consumerKey}_{PERIOD} (e.g., "abc123_PER_MINUTE")
   • Are we using the same consumer key in both places?

4. Verify Redis TTL command is working

   • Connect to Redis directly
   • Find keys: KEYS *_PER_*
   • Check TTL: TTL {key}
   • Should return positive number (e.g., 59 for a minute period)

Hypotheses to Test

Hypothesis 1: Wrong consumer key

• incrementConsumerCounters uses one consumer ID
• getCallCounterForPeriod is called with a different consumer ID
• Result: Reading keys that don't exist (TTL = -2 → normalized to 0)

Hypothesis 2: TTL normalization bug

• Raw Redis TTL is positive (e.g., 45)
• But our match logic is catching it wrong
• Or .map(_.toLong) is failing somehow

Hypothesis 3: Redis returns -1 for active keys

• In some Redis configurations, active keys might return -1
• Our code treats -1 as "no expiry" and normalizes to 0
• This would be a misunderstanding of Redis behavior

Hypothesis 4: Option handling issue

• ttlOpt might be None when it should be Some(value)
• All None cases get normalized to 0
• Check if Redis.use is returning None unexpectedly

Expected vs Actual

Expected after making 1 call to an endpoint:

{
  "per_minute": {
    "calls_made": 1,
    "reset_in_seconds": 59, // ← Should be ~60 seconds
    "status": "ACTIVE"
  }
}

Actual (what we're seeing):

{
  "per_minute": {
    "calls_made": 0,
    "reset_in_seconds": 0, // ← Wrong!
    "status": "ACTIVE"
  }
}

Action Items

1. Review logs - Check what raw TTL values are being returned from Redis
2. Test with actual API call - Make a call, immediately check counters
3. Verify consumer ID - Ensure same ID used for increment and read
4. Check Redis directly - Manually verify keys exist with correct TTL
5. Review normalization logic - May need to adjust the ttl <= 0 condition

Related Files

• RateLimitingUtil.scala - Lines 223-252 (getCallCounterForPeriod)
• JSONFactory6.0.0.scala - Lines 408-418 (status mapping)
• REDIS_READ_ACCESS_FUNCTIONS.md - Documents multiple Redis read functions

Note on Multiple Redis Read Functions

We have 4 different functions reading from Redis (see REDIS_READ_ACCESS_FUNCTIONS.md):

1. underConsumerLimits - Uses EXISTS + GET
2. incrementConsumerCounters - Uses TTL + SET/INCR
3. ttl - Uses TTL only
4. getCallCounterForPeriod - Uses TTL + GET

This redundancy may be contributing to inconsistencies. Consider refactoring to single source of truth.