This is the current status:

• The instance is serving the images via object storage. Specifically, I am making use of Contabo to save and serve the images.

• I now know that the default limits are 250 requests / second and 80 Mbit/s: help.contabo.com/…/103000275478-what-limits-are-t…

• It appears to me like when the requests are exceeded, the “Too many requests” error is triggered and it takes a few seconds before the requests are accepted again. This can happen if few users access the front page at once as this will fetch all of the thumbnails and icons on the page.

• I have been in touch with Contabo’s customer support via e-mail. But they mis-understood my original e-mails and thought I was speaking about increasing the maximum number of images that can be stored (3 million by default). I have clarified that I want to increase the rate limit and have been waiting for their response for a few days now.

• The other solution would be to move the images to a different object storage provider. The migration is also limited to the 250 requests/s and 80 Mbit/s, so it will require turning off the images for 4 - 7 days while all the images are moved… Since I am not familiar with the policies of other object storage providers I would also need to do research to avoid falling into the same trap.

So, I am hoping that Contabo’s support will get back to me soon and allow me to increase the rate limits, as this would be the most straight forward approach.