diff --git a/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/helpers/utils_rate_limit.py b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/helpers/utils_rate_limit.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..85d956fb766
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/pytest-simcore/src/pytest_simcore/helpers/utils_rate_limit.py
@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+import asyncio
+import logging
+import math
+import time
+
+from typing import List, Awaitable
+from functools import wraps
+
+from aiohttp import ClientSession, ClientTimeout, ClientResponse
+
+log = logging.getLogger()
+
+
+def function_duration(func):
+    @wraps(func)
+    async def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
+        start = time.time()
+        result = await func(*args, **kwargs)
+        end = time.time()
+        elapsed = end - start
+        log.info("Function '%s' execution took '%0.2f' seconds", func.__name__, elapsed)
+        return result
+
+    return wrapper
+
+
+def is_rate_limit_reached(result: ClientResponse) -> bool:
+    return "Retry-After" in result.headers
+
+
+async def get_request_result(
+    client: ClientSession, endpoint_to_check: str
+) -> ClientResponse:
+    result = await client.get(endpoint_to_check)
+    log.debug("%s\n%s\n%s", result, await result.text(), dict(result.headers))
+    return result
+
+
+async def assert_burst_request(
+    client: ClientSession,
+    endpoint_to_check: str,
+    burst: int,
+):
+    functions = [get_request_result(client, endpoint_to_check) for x in range(burst)]
+    results = await asyncio.gather(*functions)
+    for result in results:
+        assert is_rate_limit_reached(result) is False
+
+
+@function_duration
+async def assert_burst_rate_limit(
+    endpoint_to_check: str, average: int, period_sec: int, burst: int
+) -> float:
+    """
+    Runs 2 burst sequences with a pause in between and expects for the
+    next result to fail.
+    """
+
+    max_rate = period_sec / average
+    # sleeping 2 times the burst window
+    burst_window = period_sec / burst
+    sleep_internval = 2 * burst_window
+
+    log.info(
+        "Sleeping params: burst_window=%s, sleep_interval=%s, max_rate=%s",
+        burst_window,
+        sleep_internval,
+        max_rate,
+    )
+
+    timeout = ClientTimeout(total=10, connect=1, sock_connect=1)
+    async with ClientSession(timeout=timeout) as client:
+
+        # check can burst in timeframe
+        await assert_burst_request(
+            client=client, endpoint_to_check=endpoint_to_check, burst=burst
+        )
+
+        log.info("First burst finished")
+
+        await asyncio.sleep(sleep_internval)
+
+        # check that burst in timeframe is ok
+        await assert_burst_request(
+            client=client, endpoint_to_check=endpoint_to_check, burst=burst
+        )
+
+        log.info("Second burst finished")
+
+        # check that another request after the burst fails
+        result = await get_request_result(client, endpoint_to_check)
+        assert is_rate_limit_reached(result) is True
+
+    return sleep_internval
+
+
+@function_duration
+async def assert_steady_rate_in_5_seconds(
+    endpoint_to_check: str, average: int, period_sec: int, **_
+) -> float:
+    """Creates a requests at a continuous rate without considering burst limits"""
+    # run tests for at least 5 seconds
+    max_rate = period_sec / average  # reqs/ sec
+    requests_to_make = int(math.ceil(max_rate * 5))
+
+    sleep_interval = max_rate
+
+    log.info(
+        "Steady rate params: sleep_interval=%s, max_rate=%s, requests_to_make=%s",
+        sleep_interval,
+        max_rate,
+        requests_to_make,
+    )
+
+    timeout = ClientTimeout(total=10, connect=1, sock_connect=1)
+    async with ClientSession(timeout=timeout) as client:
+
+        for i in range(requests_to_make):
+            log.info("Request %s", i)
+            result = await get_request_result(client, endpoint_to_check)
+            assert is_rate_limit_reached(result) is False
+            log.info("Sleeping for %s s", sleep_interval)
+            await asyncio.sleep(sleep_interval)
+
+    return sleep_interval
+
+
+CHECKS_TO_RUN: List[Awaitable] = [
+    assert_steady_rate_in_5_seconds,
+    assert_burst_rate_limit,
+]
+
+
+@function_duration
+async def run_rate_limit_configuration_checks(
+    endpoint_to_check: str, average: int = 0, period_sec: int = 1, burst: int = 1
+):
+    """
+    Runner to start all the checks for the firewall configuration
+
+    All tests mut return the period to sleep before the next test can start.
+
+    All defaults are taken from Traefik's docs
+    SEE https://doc.traefik.io/traefik/middlewares/ratelimit/
+    """
+
+    log.warning(
+        "Runtime will vary based on the rate limit configuration of the service\n"
+    )
+
+    for awaitable in CHECKS_TO_RUN:
+        log.info("<<<< Starting test '%s'...", awaitable.__name__)
+        sleep_before_next_test = await awaitable(
+            endpoint_to_check=endpoint_to_check,
+            average=average,
+            period_sec=period_sec,
+            burst=burst,
+        )
+        log.info(">>>> Finished testing '%s'\n", awaitable.__name__)
+
+        log.info(">>>> Sleeping '%s' seconds before next test", sleep_before_next_test)
+        await asyncio.sleep(sleep_before_next_test)
+
+    log.info("All tests completed")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    logging.basicConfig(
+        level=logging.INFO,
+        format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(threadName)s [%(name)s] %(message)s",
+    )
+
+    # How to use, the below parameters are derived from the following labels:
+    # - traefik.http.middlewares.ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.ratelimit.average=1
+    # - traefik.http.middlewares.ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.ratelimit.period=1m
+    # - traefik.http.middlewares.ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.ratelimit.burst=10
+    # Will result in: average=1, period_sec=60, burst=10
+    # WARNING: in the above example the test will run for 5 hours :\
+
+    asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(
+        run_rate_limit_configuration_checks(
+            endpoint_to_check="http://localhost:10081/",
+            average=1,
+            period_sec=60,
+            burst=10,
+        )
+    )
diff --git a/services/docker-compose.yml b/services/docker-compose.yml
index f495478c6bc..66a2d4db27a 100644
--- a/services/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/services/docker-compose.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ services:
         - traefik.http.routers.${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.rule=hostregexp(`{host:.+}`)
         - traefik.http.routers.${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.entrypoints=simcore_api
         - traefik.http.routers.${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.priority=1
-        - traefik.http.routers.${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.middlewares=${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_gzip@docker
+        - traefik.http.routers.${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.middlewares=${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_gzip@docker,ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server
     networks:
       - default
 
@@ -335,6 +335,15 @@ services:
       placement:
         constraints:
           - node.role == manager
+      labels:
+        # for each service in the stack a new middlaware for rate limiting needs to be registered here
+        # requests = average / period this is how the limits are defined
+        - traefik.http.middlewares.ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.ratelimit.average=1
+        - traefik.http.middlewares.ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.ratelimit.period=1m
+        # a burst is computed over a period of 1 second
+        - traefik.http.middlewares.ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.ratelimit.burst=10
+        # X-Forwarded-For header extracts second IP from the right, count starts at one
+        - traefik.http.middlewares.ratelimit-${SWARM_STACK_NAME}_api-server.ratelimit.sourcecriterion.ipstrategy.depth=2
     networks:
       - default
       - interactive_services_subnet