SharePoint Online throttling

Question

We are doing a migration between tenants and the SharePoint copies seem to be throttled.

How can we get around this urgently?

Answer 1

Hello @Rich S,  

Good day! Thank you for posting your valuable question on Microsoft Q&A forum.   

Based on Microsoft’s official SharePoint Online migration and throttling guidance, the reduced throughput you’re seeing is consistent with service throttling. 

Here is the plan I recommend based directly on Microsoft’s guidance: 

• Run migration during off‑peak windows (evenings/weekends in your tenant’s region) to benefit from higher background throughput and fewer throttles.  
• Lower concurrency and shrink batch sizes in the migration tool; highly parallel jobs spike API usage and trigger HTTP 429/503 throttling.  
• Honor back‑off and retry: let the tool respect the Retry‑After header on 429/503 rather than restarting jobs (which can prolong throttling).  
• Optimize the migration host and network path: use fast SSD storage for working folders, minimize competing disk I/O, avoid competing network traffic, and ensure strong bandwidth from the migration host to Azure Storage.  
• Minimize background workloads during migration (DLP scans, heavy OneDrive sync, backups,...) to free up capacity for the migration.  
• Set expectations: throttling is by design and cannot be turned off, cannot be manually bypassed, and support escalation does not remove or relax it. Plan within these limits.  
• Execute immediately: reschedule bulk waves to off‑peak, reduce threads/parallel tasks, split large sites/libraries into smaller batches, verify host/network specs, pause competing activities during windows, and allow automatic retries to proceed. 

This approach aligns with Microsoft's official guidance for achieving the best possible throughput while staying within SharePoint Online’s service limits. 

For further information, please check:  

• Migration Manager FAQs - Migrate to Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn 
• Avoid getting throttled or blocked in SharePoint Online | Microsoft Learn 
• Migration performance guide for SharePoint & OneDrive - Migrate to Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn 

Please let me know if you need any further assistance. Thank you for sharing your question! 

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Answer 2

If you are experiencing throttling during your migration between SharePoint tenants, here are some strategies to help mitigate the issue:

1. Migrate During Off-Peak Hours: Try to schedule your migration during times when there is less activity on the SharePoint service, typically nights and weekends.
2. Reduce Concurrent Requests: Limit the number of simultaneous migration jobs you are running. It is recommended not to exceed 5,000 migration jobs in the queue at any time.
3. Avoid Request Spikes: Ensure that your migration requests are spread out over time rather than being sent in large bursts.
4. Use App-Based Authentication: Make sure you are using app-based authentication for migration, as user mode can trigger higher throttling.
5. Check Tool Configuration: Verify that your migration tool is configured correctly and is optimized for SharePoint Online.
6. Follow Throttling Guidance: Refer to the guidance on how to avoid getting throttled or blocked in SharePoint Online, which includes best practices for handling throttling scenarios.
7. Contact Support if Necessary: If the throttling persists and significantly impacts your migration, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for assistance.

Throttling is implemented to ensure the reliability and availability of the service, and unfortunately, it cannot be disabled or suspended.