AWS SQS AWS.SimpleQueueService.InvalidVisibilityTimeout

What is AWS SQS AWS.SimpleQueueService.InvalidVisibilityTimeout

Understanding AWS SQS

Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a fully managed message queuing service that enables you to decouple and scale microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications. SQS eliminates the complexity and overhead associated with managing and operating message-oriented middleware, and empowers developers to focus on differentiating work.

For more information, visit the AWS SQS product page.

Identifying the Symptom

When working with AWS SQS, you might encounter the error code AWS.SimpleQueueService.InvalidVisibilityTimeout. This error indicates that the visibility timeout value you have set is not within the acceptable range.

What is Visibility Timeout?

The visibility timeout is a period during which SQS prevents other consumers from receiving and processing the same message. This ensures that only one consumer processes a message at a time.

Details About the Issue

The error AWS.SimpleQueueService.InvalidVisibilityTimeout occurs when the visibility timeout value is set outside the allowed range. The valid range for visibility timeout is between 0 and 43200 seconds (12 hours).

Why is the Range Important?

Setting the visibility timeout correctly is crucial for ensuring that messages are not processed multiple times and that they are not locked for too long, which can delay processing.

Steps to Fix the Issue

To resolve the AWS.SimpleQueueService.InvalidVisibilityTimeout error, follow these steps:

Step 1: Verify Current Visibility Timeout

Check the current visibility timeout setting for your SQS queue. You can do this via the AWS Management Console or AWS CLI.

aws sqs get-queue-attributes --queue-url --attribute-names VisibilityTimeout

Step 2: Set a Valid Visibility Timeout

Ensure that the visibility timeout is set within the valid range. Use the AWS CLI to update the visibility timeout if necessary:

aws sqs set-queue-attributes --queue-url --attributes VisibilityTimeout=

Replace <desired-timeout-in-seconds> with a value between 0 and 43200.

Step 3: Validate the Change

After updating, verify that the change has been applied correctly by checking the visibility timeout again:

aws sqs get-queue-attributes --queue-url --attribute-names VisibilityTimeout

Additional Resources

For more detailed information on managing visibility timeouts, refer to the AWS SQS Visibility Timeout Documentation.

For troubleshooting other common SQS issues, visit the AWS SQS Troubleshooting Guide.