Enterprise resilience requires predictable performance. A single misconfigured backup policy—such as attempting to execute a full disk snapshot every two minutes—can generate a localized Denial of Service (DoS) attack against both your internal network and the StateWarden Storage Nodes.
To guarantee systemic stability and consistent, high-speed performance for all devices, StateWarden implements a strict, automated Fair Use Quota Engine governed by the Artemis Control Plane.
1. The Mechanics of Quota Enforcement
Quotas in StateWarden are not merely suggestions; they are hard limits evaluated in real-time by a high-speed Redis cluster before any operation is authorized.
Limits are defined per Device, per day (resetting at UTC Midnight).
The Two Primary Quotas
- Maximum Backups per Day: Limits the total number of successful or attempted backup operations (both automated and manual).
- Maximum Security Scans per Day: Limits the frequency of intensive Vigil threat intelligence scans (Inventory hashing and CVE matching).
How Artemis Evaluates Tasks
When a Backup Policy dictates that a START_BACKUP task should be sent to a specific Agent:
- Artemis checks the Device's current daily counter.
- If the counter is below the limit, the task is dispatched, and the counter is incremented.
- If the counter has reached the limit, Artemis rejects the task entirely. The Agent is not contacted, preventing unnecessary CPU and network overhead on the endpoint.
- A
QUOTA_EXCEEDEDevent is written to your Realm's Audit Log.
2. Dynamic Limits and Subscription Tiers
Your specific quota limits are dynamically tied to your Realm's active Subscription Plan.
- Standard / Free Tiers: Designed for workstations and standard servers. They provide a generous, but strictly capped, number of daily operations (e.g., 20 Backups, 50 Security Scans).
- Enterprise / Premium Tiers: Designed for highly volatile environments (like high-transaction databases) that require aggressive, continuous protection (e.g., 15-minute RPOs). These tiers feature significantly higher daily limits.
Note: Your limits are always visible in the Billing & Quotas section of the StateWarden Dashboard.
3. Handling Throttled Devices
If a Device hits its daily limit, it enters a Throttled state.
- Dashboard Indication: The Device's status icon will reflect its throttled condition, alerting administrators.
- Resolution: You cannot manually override a quota limit for a single day. The throttling will automatically lift at the next UTC Midnight boundary.
- Root Cause Analysis: If a device is consistently hitting its quota, you must investigate its assigned Backup Policy. Ensure the scheduled frequency (RPO) aligns with the mathematical limits of your current subscription tier.
4. The Jitter Protocol
Even within authorized quotas, executing 5,000 backups simultaneously at exactly 02:00 AM causes massive I/O spikes. To smooth out resource consumption, Artemis implements Micro-Jitter. When a policy triggers, Artemis automatically staggers the dispatch of tasks to your Agents by random intervals of a few seconds to a few minutes. This ensures smooth, predictable network utilization across your infrastructure without manual load-balancing.
StateWarden: Resilience Engineered.