Glossary
What is Wrapper timeout?
Also called: auction timeout, bidder timeout, header bidding timeout
The wrapper timeout is how long a header bidding wrapper waits for bids before handing the auction to the ad server. Late bids are left out.
हिंदी में पढ़ेंA header bidding auction cannot wait forever, so the wrapper sets a time limit. In Prebid.js it is set with bidderTimeout. Bidders that do not answer in time are excluded, and the best bids that did arrive go to the ad server.
Prebid calls choosing it a delicate balance. Too short, and slow bidders with good bids miss the auction. Too long, and the ad server call is delayed while readers scroll away or leave, so impressions are lost. Work that runs before the auction, such as consent, user ID and real-time data modules, also eats into the time.
Set the timeout from real data: each bidder’s response times and timeout rate, by region and device. If you use Prebid Server, its timeout should sit inside the auction timeout, at roughly 50% to 75% of it. A high timeout rate for one bidder is a reason to check its speed before you drop it.
Example
With a 1,000 ms timeout, bidder A answers at 400 ms with $2.10 and bidder C at 1,150 ms with $2.60. C is left out, so $2.10 goes to the ad server. If 1,500 of C's 10,000 requests time out, its timeout rate is 15%.
Why it matters to publishers
The timeout trades revenue against page speed. Setting it from response data, not a guess, helps balance late bids against lost readers.