what is a "Backlog" in webservices?

Question

I noticed that in gSoap ( C++ webservices implementation ) if I improve the backlog so high, I won't have at the client side an error such as :

Non HTTP response

The backlog is set for my gSoap server in this instruction :

m = soap_bind(&soap, hostname, port, BACKLOG); 

Could anyone explain to me why the risk of webservices calls failure decreases if I increase the backlog?

Thank you a lot!

Answer 1

The backlog defines the maximum length to which the queue of pending connections may grow.
If any further connection requests are made, they will receive the error that you posted (basically the server is saying "too many requests right now, sorry").
By increasing this value, you are allowing more clients to request a connection.