FIFO vs. LIFO in Queueing Systems: Which Strategy Wins on Latency and Availability?

When designing systems that rely on queues—whether for task scheduling, API request handling, or background processing—choosing the right queueing strategy is vital. Two common approaches are FIFO (First-In, First-Out) and LIFO (Last-In, First-Out). While both are valid depending on the context, they have markedly different impacts on latency and availability. This article explores the strengths …

May 14, 2025 - 19:48

When designing systems that rely on queues—whether for task scheduling, API request handling, or background processing—choosing the right queueing strategy is vital. Two common approaches are FIFO (First-In, First-Out) and LIFO (Last-In, First-Out). While both are valid depending on the context, they have markedly different impacts on latency and availability. This article explores the strengths …