Persistent 504 Errors in Excel Operations with Microsoft Graph API

Question

Persistent 504 Errors in Excel Operations with Microsoft Graph API

Maxwell Moreira 25

I have been working with the Microsoft Graph API in a production environment for over two months, primarily focusing on automating Excel-related tasks. Despite its promising features, I have encountered recurring issues that significantly impact its usability and efficiency.

The Problem: 504 Gateway Timeout Errors Even for the simplest tasks, such as updating a single cell value in an Excel sheet, the API consistently returns a 504 Gateway Timeout error. This can be frustrating, especially when the operation is as straightforward as changing a single number in a cell.

Impact on Performance To address these timeout issues, I've implemented various retry mechanisms, but it's far from an ideal solution. What should be a quick operation ends up taking minutes as we have to wait for the Microsoft service to respond. This substantial delay affects our workflows and creates bottlenecks in our systems.

Real-world Implications For instance, consider the need to update a series of cells as part of a critical business process. If each attempt to update results in a 504 error, it compromises the operation's efficiency. This not only makes the API unreliable for high-frequency tasks but also raises concerns about its scalability and reliability for larger, more complex operations.

Urgent Attention Required The recurring 504 errors raise questions about the reliability of the Microsoft Graph API for production use. I urge Microsoft to investigate these issues and provide a more stable solution, as they impact not only individual operations but also the integrity of entire business processes.

Viet Pm 0 Reputation points

2023-11-10T08:32:43.73+00:00

Our company switched from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 recently. We found that excel files converted from Google Sheet have a really bad performance, creating a brand new file will get a much better performance in both manual and API actions. Hope it helps for who is in the same circumstance.

However, we also get a lot of 504 errors when using graph API to clear, update data in worksheets. Using a session id in header improves performance, but just a little bit. Adding more retries and splitting into small batch is surely not an ideal solution, because too much retries and too small batch makes our task run in a very long time.

Hopefully Microsoft can improve it soon. I'm so dissapointed when switching from Google Sheet (which has a much better API performance) to Microsoft 365.

1 answer

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Viet Pm 0 Reputation points

2023-11-10T08:32:43.73+00:00

Our company switched from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 recently. We found that excel files converted from Google Sheet have a really bad performance, creating a brand new file will get a much better performance in both manual and API actions. Hope it helps for who is in the same circumstance.

However, we also get a lot of 504 errors when using graph API to clear, update data in worksheets. Using a session id in header improves performance, but just a little bit. Adding more retries and splitting into small batch is surely not an ideal solution, because too much retries and too small batch makes our task run in a very long time.

Hopefully Microsoft can improve it soon. I'm so dissapointed when switching from Google Sheet (which has a much better API performance) to Microsoft 365.

Answer 1

RaytheonXie_MSFT 40,471 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @Maxwell Moreira,

The "504 Gateway Timeout" is a server-side error. This could be caused by various factors, such as network issues, server overload, or request complexity.

One possible solution is to reduce the requested page size. If you are using JSON batching for this endpoint, do not merge other requests yet to reduce workload. If a 504 Gateway Timeout error is still returned, try calling the API individually instead of using batching for that endpoint.

Another possible solution is to retry the request after a certain interval. Sometimes, the 504 error is temporary and can be resolved by resubmitting the request. You could implement a retry logic in your code that checks for the 504 error and waits for a few seconds before trying again.

If the above suggestions don't work, then please open a support ticket on this to get help from the Microsoft support team.

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Maxwell Moreira 25 Reputation points

2023-09-12T11:32:06.1766667+00:00

Dear RaytheonXie_MSFT,

Thank you for your suggestions concerning the 504 Gateway Timeout errors we are experiencing when using the Microsoft Graph API. I want to clarify that we have already implemented the optimizations you've recommended, including minimizing the request size and implementing retry mechanisms.

Despite these efforts, we still face 504 errors even for the simplest operations. Notably, a straightforward GET request to retrieve a single cell value also results in a 504 error. Given the atomic nature of these operations, it's evident that the issue is not on our end.

Furthermore, we have extensive monitoring tools that clearly indicate the bottleneck is on Microsoft's side. Among all the services we interact with, the Microsoft Graph API is by far the most problematic, which suggests that the issue is intrinsic to your service.

I would also like to point out that this problem is not isolated. I've come across multiple posts, some dating back as far as six years, describing similar persistent issues with the Microsoft Graph API. Instead of offering generic solutions or implying the issue might be due to our network, the focus should be on addressing this longstanding problem at its core.

We have already opened a support ticket to emphasize the critical nature of this issue. We urgently request a more in-depth investigation to provide a prompt and effective resolution, as these errors are severely affecting the efficiency and reliability of our entire business process.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this critical matter.
Maxwell Moreira 25 Reputation points

2023-09-12T12:44:07.4466667+00:00

We've implemented your recommended fixes to no avail and opened a support ticket that remains unanswered. Your generic responses have provided zero resolution to a long-standing, critical issue affecting our operations.
RaytheonXie_MSFT 40,471 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-09-28T06:52:09.57+00:00

Hi @Maxwell Moreira,

If you are calling more than 10,000 API requests in a 10 minute period or calling it in more than 4 concurrent processes you may be hitting this.

You can refer to following document

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/throttling#outlook-service-limits

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Persistent 504 Errors in Excel Operations with Microsoft Graph API

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