What is a Request in MongoDB?
Table of contents
Each accepted SOCKS5 TCP connection counts as one request. We count the connection after proxy authentication succeeds and before dialing MongoDB Atlas. A connection that fails at Atlas still counts; failed proxy authentication does not.
Persistent Connections, Commands, and Heartbeats
MongoDB commands and driver heartbeats sent through an open connection do not count as additional requests. The SOCKS5 proxy relays the connection without counting the individual operations inside it.
MongoDB drivers keep monitoring and pooled connections open. New requests come from opening new connections, including application startup, Heroku dyno restarts, separate Node.js processes, pool growth, Atlas maintenance or elections, and replacement of dropped connections.
Each dyno or Node.js process has its own MongoDB client and connection pools, so the exact count depends on your number of dynos, cluster members, pool settings, traffic, and reconnect activity. For a typical single-process Atlas replica set, a restart normally creates only a handful of connections, so a 20,000-request allowance leaves substantial room for stable persistent use.
Bandwidth
SOCKS5 bandwidth includes every byte relayed between your application and Atlas in both directions, including the MongoDB TLS handshake. The SOCKS5 negotiation itself and TCP/IP packet overhead are not counted.
For long-lived connections, the Log Viewer writes a bandwidth entry each time another 1 MB is relayed. Any remaining amount is recorded when the connection closes.
Soft Limits
On paid standard plans, the soft-limit policy applies independently to both requests and bandwidth. We send an automated email at 80%. At 100%, someone from Support contacts you personally, and traffic continues while we work out the appropriate plan together. Suspension is a last resort after human review and unanswered outreach, not an automatic cutoff.
You can monitor your actual request and bandwidth usage in the QuotaGuard dashboard after connecting.
For setup instructions, see Connecting MongoDB Atlas through QuotaGuard. For limit handling, see the Soft Limit and Overage Policy.