Just noticed that our automated ticket creation flows via Data Actions are failing intermittently with a 504 Gateway Timeout error when invoking the ServiceNow REST API endpoint. This is occurring specifically during peak call volumes in the Europe/London timezone, where the webhook payload size exceeds standard thresholds due to extensive conversation context inclusion.
The integration utilizes a POST request to https://{instance}.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident with a JSON payload containing caller_id, description, and urgency fields mapped directly from Genesys Cloud conversation attributes. The timeout occurs before any response is returned from ServiceNow, suggesting the issue lies within the Genesys Cloud Data Action execution environment rather than the downstream ServiceNow instance.
Inspecting the raw webhook logs reveals that the request is successfully initiated but hangs at the HTTP connection phase. We have verified that the ServiceNow instance is responsive via direct curl commands, and the authentication tokens remain valid. The Data Action configuration includes a 30-second timeout setting, which should be sufficient for typical incident creation operations.
Has anyone encountered similar latency issues with Data Actions calling external REST APIs under high load? Are there specific payload size limitations or connection pool settings that need adjustment to prevent these timeouts?
This is a classic payload size issue during migration from Zendesk. In Zendesk, ticket creation payloads were often smaller, but Genesys Cloud Data Actions can easily exceed ServiceNow’s default limits when passing full conversation context.
Check your ServiceNow instance’s glide.websocket.max_message_size and glide.restapi.max_request_body_size properties. If they are set to defaults (usually 64KB or 128KB), increase them to handle the larger JSON blobs coming from GC.
Also, review the Data Action configuration in Genesys Cloud:
| Setting |
Recommendation |
| Timeout |
Increase to 30s |
| Payload |
Strip unnecessary fields |
Try stripping non-essential fields from the conversation_context before sending. In Zendesk, we often truncated notes to fit API limits. Doing the same here prevents the 504 timeout. If the issue persists, verify the ServiceNow API explorer shows the same timeout for similar payload sizes. This usually resolves the intermittent failures during peak hours.
According to the docs, they say that the default timeout for outbound HTTP requests in Genesys Cloud Architect data actions is significantly lower than the processing time often required by ServiceNow. This discrepancy is the root cause of the 504 Gateway Timeout errors observed during peak volumes.
To resolve this, adjust the data action configuration directly within the flow. The following steps should stabilize the integration:
- Locate the specific ServiceNow data action in the Architect flow.
- Navigate to the “Advanced” or “Timeout” settings section.
- Increase the timeout value to at least 30 seconds, or higher if ServiceNow processing remains slow.
- Ensure the payload size does not exceed ServiceNow’s
glide.restapi.max_request_body_size limit, as noted previously.
This adjustment aligns the Genesys Cloud expectation with the actual latency of the external system. Monitoring the queue activity reports after this change will confirm if the timeout errors cease during high-volume periods.
This is actually a known issue. when exporting large datasets for legal hold, payload size matters. ensure your s3 bucket policy allows large objects. also check if the kms encryption context is preserved. if not, the chain of custody breaks. try reducing the metadata fields in the export job config.