Breaking the Access Proxy and Logging Feedback Loop

The error logs kept growing, and no one could see why.

A broken feedback loop between the access proxy and the logging system can silently grind performance into the ground. These loops happen when log events from the proxy trigger responses that generate more logs, creating a cycle. Left unchecked, the logs access proxy feedback loop can flood storage, spike CPU usage, and mask the signal engineers need to debug real issues.

At the core, the access proxy sits between clients and the backend services. It authenticates, routes traffic, and records requests. The logging system stores, processes, and often routes logs to external analysis tools. When configuration, filters, or handlers are misaligned, a single event can recurse through both systems indefinitely.

Common causes include:

• Logging at too high a verbosity on proxy-level retries
• Redirecting error events to endpoints handled by the same proxy without deduplication
• Misconfigured log shippers that feed output back into proxy endpoints
• Automated remediation scripts triggered by log events that cause repeated access attempts through the proxy

Preventing this loop requires strict separation between the paths used for live traffic and those used for logging or telemetry. Key steps:

1. Set clear log levels, reducing chatter from predictable errors like 404 or connection reset.
2. Filter logs before external shipping to strip sensitive or repetitive events.
3. Ensure incident handlers invoke control channels, not user-facing endpoints.
4. Monitor for sudden exponential growth in log volume from proxy-related sources.

Detection is straightforward when alerts are configured to watch log size deltas, CPU spikes from log processing, and unusual proxy request patterns. The moment a loop starts, engineers should trace the source request across both the proxy and log shipper timelines to isolate the repeating event.

A disciplined operational model treats each integration between proxies and logging systems as a potential recursion point. Every deployment should be tested for loop conditions under load. Observability platforms can catch these patterns, but only if the architecture avoids feeding logs back into the path that generated them.

Break the loop before it starts. Configure the proxy. Harden the log pipeline. Test the flow.

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