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Consumer Groups Examples

With consumer groups, you can define any number of rate limiting tiers and apply them to subsets of consumers, instead of managing each consumer individually.

For example, you could define three consumer groups:

  • A “gold tier” with 1000 requests per minute
  • A “silver tier” with 10 requests per second
  • A “bronze tier” with 6 requests per second

The consumer_groups endpoint works together with the Rate Limiting Advanced plugin.

Consumers that are not in a consumer group default to the Rate Limiting advanced plugin’s configuration, so you can define tier groups for some users and have a default behavior for consumers without groups.

To use consumer groups for rate limiting, you need to:

  • Create one or more consumer groups
  • Create consumers
  • Assign consumers to groups
  • Configure the Rate Limiting Advanced plugin with the enforce_consumer_groups and consumer_groups parameters, setting up the list of consumer groups that the plugin accepts
  • Configure rate limiting for each consumer group, overriding the plugin’s configuration

For all possible requests, see the Consumer Groups reference.

Set up consumer group

  1. Create a consumer group named Gold:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups \
    2.    --data name=Gold
    1. http POST :8001/consumer_groups name=Gold

    Response:

    1.  {
    2.      "created_at": 1638915521,
    3.      "id": "8a4bba3c-7f82-45f0-8121-ed4d2847c4a4",
    4.      "name": "Gold",
    5.      "tags": null
    6.  }

  2. Create a consumer, Amal:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers \
    2.    --data username=Amal
    1. http POST :8001/consumers username=Amal

    Response:

    1.  {
    2.      "created_at": 1638915577,
    3.      "custom_id": null,
    4.      "id": "8089a0e6-1d31-4e00-bf51-5b902899b4cb",
    5.      "tags": null,
    6.      "type": 0,
    7.      "username": "Amal",
    8.      "username_lower": "amal"
    9.  }

  3. Add Amal to the Gold consumer group:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold/consumers \
    2.    --data consumer=Amal
    1. http POST :8001/consumer_groups/Gold/consumers consumer=Amal

    Response:

    1.  {
    2.    "consumer_group": {
    3.    "created_at": 1638915521,
    4.    "id": "8a4bba3c-7f82-45f0-8121-ed4d2847c4a4",
    5.    "name": "Gold",
    6.    "tags": null
    7.    },
    8.    "consumers": [
    9.      {
    10.          "created_at": 1638915577,
    11.          "id": "8089a0e6-1d31-4e00-bf51-5b902899b4cb",
    12.          "type": 0,
    13.          "username": "Amal",
    14.          "username_lower": "amal"
    15.      }
    16.    ]
    17.  }

Set up Rate Limiting Advanced config for consumer group

  1. Enable the Rate Limiting Advanced plugin, setting the rate limit to five requests (config.limit) for every 30 seconds (config.window_size):

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/plugins/  \
    2.    --data name=rate-limiting-advanced \
    3.    --data config.limit=5 \
    4.    --data config.window_size=30 \
    5.    --data config.window_type=sliding \
    6.    --data config.retry_after_jitter_max=0 \
    7.    --data config.enforce_consumer_groups=true \
    8.    --data config.consumer_groups=Gold
    1. http -f :8001/plugins/  \
    2.    name=rate-limiting-advanced \
    3.    config.limit=5 \
    4.    config.window_size=30 \
    5.    config.window_type=sliding \
    6.    config.retry_after_jitter_max=0 \
    7.    config.enforce_consumer_groups=true \
    8.    config.consumer_groups=Gold

    For consumer groups, the following parameters are required:

    • config.enforce_consumer_groups=true: enables consumer groups for this plugin.
    • config.consumer_groups=Gold: specifies a list of groups that this plugin allows overrides for.

    Note: In this example, you’re configuring the plugin globally, so it applies to all entities (Services, Routes, and Consumers) in the Kong Gateway instance. You can also apply it to a specific Service or Route for more granular control.

  2. The plugin you just set up applies to all consumers in the cluster. Change the rate limiting configuration for the Gold consumer group only, setting the limit to ten requests for every ten seconds:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X PUT http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold/overrides/plugins/rate-limiting-advanced \
    2.    --data config.limit=10 \
    3.    --data config.window_size=10 \
    4.    --data config.retry_after_jitter_max=1
    1. http PUT :8001/consumer_groups/Gold/overrides/plugins/rate-limiting-advanced \
    2.    config.limit=10 \
    3.    config.window_size=10 \
    4.    config.retry_after_jitter_max=1

    Response:

    1.  {
    2.    "config": {
    3.        "limit": [
    4.            10
    5.        ],
    6.        "retry_after_jitter_max": 1,
    7.        "window_size": [
    8.            10
    9.        ]
    10.    },
    11.    "consumer_group": "Gold",
    12.    "plugin": "rate-limiting-advanced"
    13.  }

  3. Check that it worked by looking at the Gold consumer group object:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold
    1. http :8001/consumer_groups/Gold

    Notice the plugins object in the response, along with the parameters that you just set for the Rate Limiting Advanced plugin:

    1.  {
    2.      "consumer_group": {
    3.          "created_at": 1638915521,
    4.          "id": "8a4bba3c-7f82-45f0-8121-ed4d2847c4a4",
    5.          "name": "Gold",
    6.          "tags": null
    7.      },
    8.      "consumers": [
    9.          {
    10.              "created_at": 1638915577,
    11.              "id": "8089a0e6-1d31-4e00-bf51-5b902899b4cb",
    12.              "type": 0,
    13.              "username": "Amal",
    14.              "username_lower": "amal"
    15.          }
    16.      ],
    17.      "plugins": [
    18.          {
    19.              "config": {
    20.                  "limit": [
    21.                      10
    22.                  ],
    23.                  "retry_after_jitter_max": 1,
    24.                  "window_size": [
    25.                      10
    26.                  ],
    27.                  "window_type": "sliding"
    28.              },
    29.              "consumer_group": {
    30.                  "id": "8a4bba3c-7f82-45f0-8121-ed4d2847c4a4"
    31.              },
    32.              "created_at": 1638916518,
    33.              "id": "b7c426a2-6fcc-4bfd-9b7a-b66e8f1ad260",
    34.              "name": "rate-limiting-advanced"
    35.          }
    36.      ]
    37.  }

Remove consumer from group - group view

You can remove a consumer from a group by accessing /consumers or /consumer_groups. The following steps use /consumer_groups.

  1. Check the Gold consumer group for the consumer name:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold
    1. http :8001/consumer_groups/Gold

    Response:

    1.  {
    2.      "consumer_group": {
    3.          "created_at": 1638915521,
    4.          "id": "8a4bba3c-7f82-45f0-8121-ed4d2847c4a4",
    5.          "name": "Gold",
    6.          "tags": null
    7.      },
    8.      "consumers": [
    9.          {
    10.              "created_at": 1638915577,
    11.              "id": "8089a0e6-1d31-4e00-bf51-5b902899b4cb",
    12.              "type": 0,
    13.              "username": "Amal",
    14.              "username_lower": "amal"
    15.          }
    16.      ]
    17.    }

  2. Using the username or ID of the consumer (Amal in this example), remove the consumer from the group:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X DELETE http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold/consumers/Amal
    1. http DELETE :8001/consumer_groups/Gold/consumers/Amal

    If successful, you receive the following response:

    1.  HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

  3. To verify, check the consumer group configuration again:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold
    1. http :8001/consumer_groups/Gold

    Response, with no consumers assigned:

    1.  {
    2.      "consumer_group": {
    3.          "created_at": 1638917780,
    4.          "id": "be4bcfca-b1df-4fac-83cc-5cf6774bf48e",
    5.          "name": "Gold",
    6.          "tags": null
    7.      }
    8.  }

Remove consumer from group - consumer view

You can remove a consumer from a group by accessing /consumers or /consumer_groups. The following steps use /consumers.

  1. If you know the consumer name and not the consumer group name, you can look up the group through the consumer:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers/Amal/consumer_groups
    1. http :8001/consumers/Amal/consumer_groups

    Response:

    1.  {
    2.      "consumer_groups": [
    3.          {
    4.              "created_at": 1638915521,
    5.              "id": "8a4bba3c-7f82-45f0-8121-ed4d2847c4a4",
    6.              "name": "Gold",
    7.              "tags": null
    8.          }
    9.      ]
    10.  }

  2. Using the username or ID of the group (Gold in this example), remove the consumer from the group:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X DELETE http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers/Amal/consumer_groups/Gold
    1. http DELETE :8001/consumers/Amal/consumer_groups/Gold

    If successful, you receive the following response:

    1.  HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

  3. To verify, check the consumer object configuration:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold
    1. http :8001/consumer_groups/Gold

    Response, with no consumers assigned:

    1.  {
    2.      "consumer_group": {
    3.          "created_at": 1638917780,
    4.          "id": "be4bcfca-b1df-4fac-83cc-5cf6774bf48e",
    5.          "name": "Gold",
    6.          "tags": null
    7.      }
    8.  }

Delete consumer group configurations

You can also clear the configuration of a consumer group without deleting the consumer group itself.

With this method, the consumers in the group aren’t deleted and are still in the consumer group.

  1. Delete the consumer group configuration using the following request:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X DELETE http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold/overrides/plugins/rate-limiting-advanced
    1. http DELETE :8001/consumer_groups/Gold/overrides/plugins/rate-limiting-advanced

    If successful, you receive see the following response:

    1.  HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

  2. To verify, check the consumer object configuration:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold
    1. http :8001/consumer_groups/Gold

    Response, without a plugins object:

    1.  {
    2.      "consumer_group": {
    3.          "created_at": 1638917780,
    4.          "id": "be4bcfca-b1df-4fac-83cc-5cf6774bf48e",
    5.          "name": "Gold",
    6.          "tags": null
    7.      }
    8.  }

Delete consumer group

If you don’t need a consumer group anymore, you can delete it. This removes all consumers from the group, and deletes the group itself. The consumers in the group are not deleted.

  1. Delete a consumer group using the following request:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X DELETE http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Gold
    1. http DELETE :8001/consumer_groups/Gold

    If successful, you receive see the following response:

    1.  HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

  2. Check the list of consumer groups to verify that the Gold group is gone:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups
    1. http :8001/consumer_groups

    Response:

    1.  {
    2.  "data": [],
    3.  "next": null
    4.  }

  3. Check a consumer that was in the group to make sure it still exists:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X GET http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers/Amal
    1. http :8001/consumers/Amal

    An HTTP/1.1 200 OK response means the consumer exists.

Manage multiple consumers

You can perform many /consumer_groups operations in bulk.

  1. Assuming you deleted the group Gold in the previous section, create it again, along with another group named Speedsters:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups \
    2.    --data name=Gold
    4.  curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups \
    5.    --data name=Speedsters
    1. http POST :8001/consumer_groups name=Gold
    3.  http POST :8001/consumer_groups name=Speedsters

  2. Create two consumers, BarryAllen and WallyWest:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers \
    2.    --data username=BarryAllen
    4.  curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers \
    5.    --data username=WallyWest
    1. http POST :8001/consumers username=BarryAllen
    3.  http POST :8001/consumers username=WallyWest

  3. Add both consumers to the Speedsters group:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Speedsters/consumers \
    2.    --data consumer=BarryAllen \
    3.    --data consumer=WallyWest
    1. http POST :8001/consumer_groups/Speedsters/consumers \
    2.    consumer:='["BarryAllen", "WallyWest"]'

    Kong Gateway validates the provided list of consumers before assigning them to the consumer group. To pass validation, consumers must exist and must not be in the group already.

    If any consumer fails validation, no consumers are assigned to the group.

    Response, if everything is successful:

    1.  {
    2.      "consumer_group": {
    3.          "created_at": 1639432267,
    4.          "id": "a905151a-5767-40e8-804e-50eec4d0235b",
    5.          "name": "Speedsters",
    6.          "tags": null
    7.      },
    8.      "consumers": [
    9.          {
    10.              "created_at": 1639432286,
    11.              "id": "ea904e1d-1f0d-4d5a-8391-cae60cb21d61",
    12.              "type": 0,
    13.              "username": "BarryAllen",
    14.              "username_lower": "barryallen"
    15.          },
    16.          {
    17.              "created_at": 1639432288,
    18.              "id": "065d8249-6fe6-4d80-a0ae-f159caef7af0",
    19.              "type": 0,
    20.              "username": "WallyWest",
    21.              "username_lower": "wallywest"
    22.          }
    23.      ]
    24.  }

  4. You can clear all consumers from a group with one request. This may be useful if you need to cycle the group for a new batch of users.

    For example, delete all consumers from the Speedsters group:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X DELETE http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumer_groups/Speedsters/consumers
    1. http DELETE :8001/consumer_groups/Speedsters/consumers

    Response:

    1.  HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

  5. You can also add a consumer to multiple groups:

    • If all groups are allowed by the Rate Limiting Advanced plugin, only the first group’s settings apply.
    • Otherwise, whichever group is specified in the Rate Limiting Advanced plugin becomes active.

    Add BarryAllen to two groups, Gold and Speedsters:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X POST http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers/BarryAllen/consumer_groups \
    2.    --data group=Gold \
    3.    --data group=Speedsters
    1. http POST :8001/consumers/BarryAllen/consumer_groups \
    2.    group:='["Gold", "Speedsters"]'

    The response should look something like this:

    1.  {
    2.    "consumer": {
    3.        "created_at": 1639436091,
    4.        "custom_id": null,
    5.        "id": "6098d577-6741-4cf8-9c86-e68057b8f970",
    6.        "tags": null,
    7.        "type": 0,
    8.        "username": "BarryAllen",
    9.        "username_lower": "barryallen"
    10.    },
    11.    "consumer_groups": [
    12.        {
    13.            "created_at": 1639432267,
    14.            "id": "a905151a-5767-40e8-804e-50eec4d0235b",
    15.            "name": "Gold",
    16.            "tags": null
    17.        },
    18.        {
    19.            "created_at": 1639436107,
    20.            "id": "2fd2bdd6-690c-4e49-8296-31f55015496d",
    21.            "name": "Speedsters",
    22.            "tags": null
    23.        }
    24.    ]
    25.  }

  6. Finally, you can also remove a consumer from all groups:

    cURL

    HTTPie

    1. curl -i -X DELETE http://{HOSTNAME}:8001/consumers/BarryAllen/consumer_groups
    1. http DELETE :8001/consumers/BarryAllen/consumer_groups

    Response:

    1.  HTTP/1.1 204 No Content