gRPC 4 DEADLINE_EXCEEDED vs 15 DATA_LOSS
Both gRPC 4 (DEADLINE_EXCEEDED) and 15 (DATA_LOSS) belong to the gRPC Status Codes category. 4 indicates that the deadline expired before the operation could complete. For operations that change the state of the system, this error may be returned even if the operation has completed successfully. Meanwhile, 15 means that unrecoverable data loss or corruption has occurred.
Description
The deadline expired before the operation could complete. For operations that change the state of the system, this error may be returned even if the operation has completed successfully.
When You See It
The RPC took longer than the configured deadline allows. Common in slow network conditions, overloaded servers, or when the deadline is set too aggressively.
How to Fix
Increase the client deadline, optimize the server-side processing, or add server-side caching. If the operation might have succeeded, check idempotency before retrying.
Description
Unrecoverable data loss or corruption has occurred.
When You See It
Critical data was lost or corrupted — for example, a checksum mismatch during transmission or an unrecoverable storage failure on the server.
How to Fix
Investigate the data integrity failure immediately. Restore from backups if available, and check for hardware failures or network corruption in the data path.
Key Differences
gRPC 4: The deadline expired before the operation could complete. For operations that change the state of the system, this error may be returned even if the operation has completed successfully.
gRPC 15: Unrecoverable data loss or corruption has occurred.
You encounter 4 when the RPC took longer than the configured deadline allows. Common in slow network conditions, overloaded servers, or when the deadline is set too aggressively.
You encounter 15 when critical data was lost or corrupted — for example, a checksum mismatch during transmission or an unrecoverable storage failure on the server.
When to Use Which
For 4 (DEADLINE_EXCEEDED): Increase the client deadline, optimize the server-side processing, or add server-side caching. If the operation might have succeeded, check idempotency before retrying. For 15 (DATA_LOSS): Investigate the data integrity failure immediately. Restore from backups if available, and check for hardware failures or network corruption in the data path.