SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE - Devotel Orbit Documentation

What this error means

SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE is returned with HTTP status 503 when a dependency the request needs is temporarily unavailable: a brief database connectivity blip, load shedding while the platform protects core paths under heavy load, or a required database object that is not ready yet for your organization. The request was not processed; retrying after a short pause is expected and safe. Every response for this error carries this page’s address in meta.docs_url:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE",
    "message": "Database temporarily unavailable — please retry shortly.",
    "status": 503
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_01J9ZKQ3V8",
    "docs_url": "https://docs.orbit.devotel.io/errors/SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE"
  }
}

Cause

State	What is happening
A brief database connectivity blip	The connection could not be served at that instant; a retry a moment later usually succeeds
Platform load shedding	Under sustained overload Orbit sheds excess load so core sending paths stay healthy
A required object not ready for your organization	Provisioning or maintenance is still converging for a resource your request touches

How to fix it

Retry with backoff. This is a transient fault: wait a second or two and reissue the request, doubling the wait between attempts. Honor a Retry-After header when one is present.
Do not retry at full speed. An immediate retry loop converts one shedding event into a self-inflicted rate-limit problem on top of it.
Check the status page for sustained windows. If 503s continue for more than a few minutes, status.orbit.devotel.io shows whether the platform is in a declared incident.
Include meta.request_id if you open a ticket. It lets support pull the exact request from logs.

Error Code Reference — SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE sits in the transient retry class.
Platform load shedding runbook — what 503s mean during a shedding event and how clients should behave.
Error Handling Examples — response-envelope handling patterns in code.

​What this error means

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What this error means

Cause

How to fix it

Related