---
title: User resource limits
description: Understand PingDirectory user resource limits that restrict data retrieval and expensive client operations.
component: pingdirectory
version: 10.3
page_id: pingdirectory:pingdirectory_security_guide:pd_sec_user_resource_limits
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/11.1/pingdirectory_security_guide/pd_sec_user_resource_limits.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
revdate: 2023-09-13T00:00:00Z
superseded_by: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/11.1/pingdirectory_security_guide/pd_sec_user_resource_limits.html
---

# User resource limits

The PingDirectory server can impose limits on client connections to restrict the amount of data they can retrieve or limit their ability to request expensive operations.

This includes:

* The maximum number of entries they can retrieve in any search operation

* The maximum number of entries the server considers when processing any search operation

* The maximum length of time the server is allowed to spend while processing a search operation

* The maximum length of time that a client connection can remain idle between requests

* The maximum number of entries that can be joined with any single search result entry when performing a search using the LDAP join request control

Default values for each of these limits can be defined in the global configuration, but they can be overridden on a per-user basis with operational attributes in the user's entry. Hard upper bounds for these limits for these properties can also be imposed by client connection policies, and the client can set upper bounds for the time, size, and join size limits when submitting a search request.