Google Pub/Sub The message exceeds the maximum allowed size.

The message payload is larger than the 10 MB limit set by Google Pub/Sub.

Understanding Google Pub/Sub

Google Cloud Pub/Sub is a messaging service designed to provide reliable, many-to-many, asynchronous messaging between applications. It decouples senders and receivers, allowing for scalable and flexible communication. Pub/Sub is often used for streaming analytics and data integration pipelines.

Identifying the Symptom

When using Google Pub/Sub, you might encounter an error with the code MESSAGE_TOO_LARGE. This error indicates that the message you are trying to publish exceeds the maximum allowed size.

What You Observe

Typically, you will see an error message in your logs or receive an exception in your application indicating that the message size is too large. This prevents the message from being successfully published to the topic.

Details About the Issue

The MESSAGE_TOO_LARGE error occurs when the size of the message payload exceeds the 10 MB limit imposed by Google Pub/Sub. This limit includes all message attributes and the data payload itself.

Why This Happens

Google Pub/Sub enforces this limit to ensure efficient processing and delivery of messages. Large messages can lead to increased latency and resource consumption, which can degrade the performance of the messaging system.

Steps to Fix the Issue

To resolve the MESSAGE_TOO_LARGE error, you need to reduce the size of your message payload. Here are some actionable steps to achieve this:

1. Compress the Message

Consider compressing your message payload using a compression algorithm like GZIP. This can significantly reduce the size of the data being sent. Here is a simple example in Python:

import gzip
import base64

def compress_message(data):
compressed_data = gzip.compress(data.encode('utf-8'))
return base64.b64encode(compressed_data).decode('utf-8')

# Usage
message = "Your large message here"
compressed_message = compress_message(message)

2. Break Down the Message

If compression is not sufficient, consider breaking down the message into smaller parts. You can publish these parts separately and reassemble them on the subscriber side.

3. Optimize Data Format

Review the data format you are using. Formats like JSON can be verbose. Consider using more compact formats like Protocol Buffers or Avro, which are more efficient in terms of size.

Additional Resources

For more information on managing message sizes and optimizing your use of Google Pub/Sub, refer to the following resources:

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