I’ve recorded a video on how to implement bulkheads and backpressure using MicroProfile Fault Tolerance. The idea behind bulkheads is to split applications into several execution units that isolate functionality. In enterprise Java applications, this typically means defining multiple thread pools.
Applying backpressure to clients results in either adding information about the current pressure on the system to the client so that they will react to it, or to explicitly deny the request with a temporary error response.