Queries-per-Second (QPS)

Definition - What does Queries-per-Second (QPS) mean?

Queries per second is a measure of the rate of traffic going through a particular server in relation to a network that serves a Web domain. This measurement is important in assessing how support infrastructures handle changing amounts of Web traffic and whether systems are scalable enough to serve the changing needs of a user community as they grow.

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Techopedia explains Queries-per-Second (QPS)

Assessing projects in terms of queries per second and other metrics serves the specific purpose of making sure that websites respond to users quickly and efficiently. These types of assessments and benchmarks are behind the idea that users can enter something into a website and get immediate updates. One major example is social media giant Facebook. Analysis of Facebook’s engineering efforts shows that the site can respond to a volume of well over 10 million queries per second, with response times measured in milliseconds. This kind of functionality is not easy to achieve, and although individual users may not think about how it is accomplished, internal engineers go through a sophisticated process of assessing the slowest responses and working to change outcomes.

Looking at scalability and how servers handle changing workloads is part of understanding how the most successful Web services have evolved over time. Experts look at how services like Facebook and Twitter emerged from inconspicuous beginnings to become titans in the social media world. At the same time, tech companies are always assessing queries per second and other kinds of metrics in order to make sure that their systems are competitive and attractive to Web users.