Enforce Budget Limits

Learn how to implement and manage budget enforcement policies for LLM usage to achieve ROI targets and prevent unexpected costs.

Overview

As organizations scale their LLM usage, controlling costs becomes critical. Tetrate Agent Operations Director provides mechanisms to enforce spending limits through quota management and traffic control.

The enforcement process typically follows a phased approach:

1. Monitoring: Monitoring usage without enforcement to establish baselines
2. Enforcement: Applying limits with defined actions when thresholds are reached

Enforcement Strategies

Monitoring Mode

Before enforcing hard limits, start with monitoring mode:

• Usage Tracking: Collect detailed metrics on consumption patterns
• Zero Impact: No service disruption while gathering baseline data

Enforcement Mode

Once baseline usage patterns are established, transition to enforcement mode:

• Hard Quotas: Define maximum usage limits per time period
• Enforcement Actions: Specify behavior when limits are reached:
  • Return error responses (e.g., HTTP 429 Too Many Requests)
  • Queue requests for later processing
  • Redirect to alternative resources

Implementation Workflow

Phase 1: Monitoring

1. Create Budget Template: Define standard quota allocations
2. Assign to Consumers: Link budgets to applications
3. Set Monitored Mode: Configure for monitoring without enforcement
4. Collect Usage Data: Gather consumption metrics over time
5. Review Period: Analyze usage patterns over 1-2 weeks

Phase 2: Enforcement Activation

1. Adjust Quotas: Fine-tune limits based on observed usage
2. Communication: Notify application teams about upcoming enforcement
3. Mode Change: Switch from "Monitored" to "Enforced" mode
4. Validation: Verify enforcement is working as expected
5. Ongoing Monitoring: Continue tracking for any issues or necessary adjustments