> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wb-21fd5541-wbdocs-1882.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How do I fix server errors (500, 503) with W&B Inference?

Server errors indicate temporary issues with the W\&B Inference service.

## Error types

### 500 - Internal Server Error

**Message:** "The server had an error while processing your request"

This is a temporary internal error on the server side.

### 503 - Service Overloaded

**Message:** "The engine is currently overloaded, please try again later"

The service is experiencing high traffic.

## How to handle server errors

1. **Wait before retrying**
   * 500 errors: Wait 30-60 seconds
   * 503 errors: Wait 60-120 seconds

2. **Use exponential backoff**
   ```python theme={null}
   import time
   import openai

   def call_with_retry(client, messages, model, max_retries=5):
       for attempt in range(max_retries):
           try:
               return client.chat.completions.create(
                   model=model,
                   messages=messages
               )
           except Exception as e:
               if "500" in str(e) or "503" in str(e):
                   if attempt < max_retries - 1:
                       wait_time = min(60, (2 ** attempt))
                       time.sleep(wait_time)
                   else:
                       raise
               else:
                   raise
   ```

3. **Set appropriate timeouts**
   * Increase timeout values for your HTTP client
   * Consider async operations for better handling

## When to contact support

Contact support if:

* Errors persist for more than 10 minutes
* You see patterns of failures at specific times
* Error messages contain additional details

Provide:

* Error messages and codes
* Time when errors occurred
* Your code snippet (remove API keys)
* W\&B entity and project names

***

<Badge stroke shape="pill" color="orange" size="md">[Inference](/support/models/tags/inference)</Badge>