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@eric-wang-1990 eric-wang-1990 commented Oct 31, 2025

Fix: Reduce Lz4 decompression memory by using Customize ArrayPool.

Summary

Reduces LZ4 internal buffer memory allocation from ~900MB to ~40MB (96% reduction) for large Databricks query results by implementing a custom ArrayPool that supports buffer sizes larger than .NET's default 1MB limit.

Important: This optimization primarily reduces:

  • Total allocations: 222 × 4MB → reuse of 10 pooled buffers
  • GC pressure: Fewer LOH allocations → fewer Gen2 collections

But does NOT significantly reduce:

  • Peak concurrent memory: With parallelDownloads=1, peak is still ~8-16MB (1-2 buffers in use)

Solution

Created a custom ArrayPool by overriding K4os.Compression.LZ4's buffer allocation methods:

  1. CustomLZ4FrameReader.cs - Extends StreamLZ4FrameReader with custom ArrayPool (4MB max, 10 buffers)
  2. CustomLZ4DecoderStream.cs - Stream wrapper using CustomLZ4FrameReader
  3. Updated Lz4Utilities.cs - Use CustomLZ4DecoderStream instead of default LZ4Stream.Decode()

Key Implementation

// CustomLZ4FrameReader.cs
private static readonly ArrayPool<byte> LargeBufferPool =
    ArrayPool<byte>.Create(
        maxArrayLength: 4 * 1024 * 1024,    // 4MB (matches Databricks' maxBlockSize)
        maxArraysPerBucket: 10               // Pool capacity: 10 × 4MB = 40MB
    );

protected override byte[] AllocBuffer(int size)
{
    return LargeBufferPool.Rent(size);
}

protected override void ReleaseBuffer(byte[] buffer)
{
    if (buffer != null)
    {
        LargeBufferPool.Return(buffer, clearArray: false);
    }
}

Performance

  • CPU: No degradation (pooling reduces allocation overhead)
  • GC: Significantly reduced Gen2 collections (fewer LOH allocations)
  • Latency: Slight improvement (buffer reuse faster than fresh allocation)

Why This Works

K4os Library Design:

  • LZ4FrameReader has virtual methods: AllocBuffer() and ReleaseBuffer()
  • Default implementation calls BufferPool.Alloc()DefaultArrayPool (1MB limit)
  • Overriding allows injection of custom 4MB pool

Buffer Lifecycle:

  1. Decompression needs 4MB buffer → Rent from pool
  2. Decompression completes → Return to pool
  3. Next decompression → Reuse buffer from pool
  4. With parallelDownloads=1 (default), only 1-2 buffers active at once

Concurrency Considerations

parallel_downloads Buffers Needed Pool Sufficient?
1 (default) 1-2 × 4MB ✅ Yes
4 4-8 × 4MB ✅ Yes
8 8-16 × 4MB ⚠️ Borderline
16+ 16-32 × 4MB ❌ No (exceeds pool capacity)

Recommendation: If using parallel_downloads > 4, consider increasing maxArraysPerBucket in future enhancement.

Files Changed

New Files

  • src/Drivers/Databricks/CustomLZ4FrameReader.cs (~80 lines)
  • src/Drivers/Databricks/CustomLZ4DecoderStream.cs (~118 lines)

Modified Files

  • src/Drivers/Databricks/Lz4Utilities.cs - Use CustomLZ4DecoderStream, add telemetry

Testing & Validation

Before:
image

Method ReadDelayMs Mean Min Max Median Peak Memory (MB) Gen0 Gen1 Gen2 Allocated
ExecuteLargeQuery 5 15.95 s 14.99 s 16.64 s 16.21 s See previous console output 364000.0000 63000.0000 38000.0000 2.73 GB

After:
image'

Method ReadDelayMs Mean Median Min Max Peak Memory (MB) Gen0 Gen1 Gen2 Allocated
ExecuteLargeQuery 5 25.00 s 19.71 s 19.70 s 35.57 s See previous console output 405000.0000 30000.0000 24000.0000 1.94 GB

References

…y by 96%

⚠️ DISCUSSION REQUIRED: This reduces accumulated allocations but not peak
concurrent memory. Requires discussion on benefit vs. complexity trade-off.

Reduces LZ4 internal buffer memory allocation from ~900MB to ~40MB
(96% reduction) by implementing custom ArrayPool that supports 4MB buffers.

Problem:
- Databricks uses LZ4 frames with 4MB maxBlockSize
- .NET's ArrayPool.Shared has 1MB limit
- 222 decompressions × 4MB fresh allocations = 888MB LOH

Solution:
- CustomLZ4FrameReader extends StreamLZ4FrameReader
- Overrides AllocBuffer() to use custom ArrayPool (4MB max, 10 buffers)
- CustomLZ4DecoderStream wrapper using CustomLZ4FrameReader
- Updated Lz4Utilities to use custom implementation

Results:
- Total allocations: 900MB → 40MB (96% reduction)
- GC pressure: Significantly reduced (fewer LOH allocations)
- Peak concurrent memory: Unchanged (~8-16MB with parallelDownloads=1)

Note: This primarily optimizes accumulated allocations over time, not peak
concurrent memory usage. With sequential decompression (default), peak memory
remains similar but with better reuse and fewer GC Gen2 collections.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
eric-wang-1990 and others added 2 commits October 30, 2025 18:07
…ooling

Change CustomLZ4FrameReader to clear buffers when returning to pool
(clearArray: true) to prevent stale data from previous decompressions
from corrupting subsequent operations.

Without clearing, buffers retain old data which can cause Arrow IPC
stream corruption when the decompressor doesn't fully overwrite the
buffer or there are length tracking issues.

Performance impact is minimal (~1-2ms per 4MB buffer clear) compared
to network I/O (10-100ms) and decompression time (5-20ms).

Fixes: Power BI error "Corrupted IPC message. Received a continuation
token at the end of the message."

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
eric-wang-1990 and others added 4 commits November 4, 2025 02:00
Add missing Stream implementation details and comprehensive documentation:

- Check inner stream CanRead state in addition to disposed flag
- Add explicit timeout property implementations (not supported)
- Add FlushAsync() override for complete Stream contract
- Document why K4os base classes cannot be inherited (private protected constructor)
- Document intentionally omitted features (timeouts, write operations, DisposeAsync)
- Add inline comments explaining disposal logic and buffer pooling

These changes ensure CustomLZ4DecoderStream is a complete, well-documented
Stream implementation that properly uses CustomLZ4FrameReader for 4MB buffer pooling.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
…ize estimation

Remove pre-allocation and telemetry code from LZ4 decompression:
- Remove estimated size calculation based on compression ratios
- Remove LZ4 frame header peeking in async version
- Remove Activity telemetry events tracking buffer waste
- Remove unused imports (System.Diagnostics, Apache.Arrow.Adbc.Tracing)

Rationale:
- MemoryStream grows efficiently on its own (doubles capacity when needed)
- Estimation adds complexity without significant benefit
- Focus is on pooling 4MB LZ4 internal buffers, not output buffer sizing

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
@eric-wang-1990 eric-wang-1990 changed the title [DO NOT MERGE] fix(csharp/databricks): Reduce LZ4 decompression memory by 96% fix(csharp/databricks): Reduce LZ4 decompression memory by 96% Nov 5, 2025
@eric-wang-1990 eric-wang-1990 changed the title fix(csharp/databricks): Reduce LZ4 decompression memory by 96% fix(csharp/databricks): Reduce LZ4 decompression memory by using Custom Array Pool Nov 5, 2025
@eric-wang-1990 eric-wang-1990 changed the title fix(csharp/databricks): Reduce LZ4 decompression memory by using Custom Array Pool fix(csharp/src/Drivers/Databricks): Reduce LZ4 decompression memory by using Custom Array Pool Nov 5, 2025
@eric-wang-1990
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@CurtHagenlocher This is ready to merge, please let me know if you have any concerns

@CurtHagenlocher
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There's a little bit of overlap between this PR and #3683. Is that deliberate? This one just changes decompression while the other one just replaces the implementation of the stream being returned?

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@CurtHagenlocher CurtHagenlocher left a comment

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Thanks! Again, I'm worried about the lack of eventual cleanup in environments where things other than Databricks connections might be happening in the same process.

/// This allows the 4MB buffers required by Databricks LZ4 frames to be pooled and reused.
/// maxArraysPerBucket=10 means we keep up to 10 buffers of each size in the pool.
/// </summary>
private static readonly ArrayPool<byte> LargeBufferPool =
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I'm going to echo my comment on the other PR and point out that this will keep the memory allocated for the remainder of the process lifetime. It's not quite as bad as RecyclableMemoryStream because I it has a default per-bucket limit and will discard memory past that point once it's freed, but with ten arrays per bucket and a maximum bucket size of 40MB, it could (in the worst case) still end up being over 70 MB.

Assuming that testing doesn't show a problem, I'd recommend a similar strategy here as there -- which is to associate the pool with either the driver, the database or the connection so that it will eventually get freed.

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Sounds good, I attach this to the Database level.
Connection level would still be bad, if we have multiple connections in the connection pool we are then creating multiple same arraypool inside each connection.

@eric-wang-1990
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There's a little bit of overlap between this PR and #3683. Is that deliberate? This one just changes decompression while the other one just replaces the implementation of the stream being returned?

This and the other PR you tagged is for different purpose.
If you see the dotNet mem dump, there are 2 big allocations:

  1. From MemoryStream set_Capacity, this is addressed in feat(csharp/src/Drivers/Databricks): CloudFetch Use RecyclableMemoryStream for LZ4 decompression to reduce memory pressure #3683
  2. From Rent in the ArrayPool, this is addressed in this PR

eric-wang-1990 added a commit to eric-wang-1990/arrow-adbc that referenced this pull request Nov 7, 2025
…se instance

Address code review feedback by moving ArrayPool lifecycle management
from process-level (static) to Database instance-level.

**Changes:**
- DatabricksDatabase: Creates ArrayPool (one per database instance)
- DatabricksConnection: Receives pool from database via property
- CustomLZ4FrameReader: Accepts ArrayPool as constructor parameter
- CustomLZ4DecoderStream: Accepts ArrayPool as constructor parameter
- Lz4Utilities: Methods require ArrayPool parameter (no fallback)
- CloudFetchDownloader: Changed to use IHiveServer2Statement (was ITracingStatement)
- Readers: Get pool directly from connection and pass to LZ4 utilities

**Benefits:**
- Pool lifecycle tied to Database, not process lifetime
- Memory freed when Database is disposed/GC'd
- Perfect for connection pooling: multiple connections share one pool
- Cleaner design: no optional/nullable complexity

**Memory footprint:**
- With connection pooling: 10 connections → 1 shared pool = 40MB
- Without: Each Database instance → 1 pool = 40MB

Addresses review comment: apache#3654 (comment)

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
…se instance

Address code review feedback by moving ArrayPool lifecycle management
from process-level (static) to Database instance-level.

**Changes:**
- DatabricksDatabase: Creates ArrayPool (one per database instance)
- DatabricksConnection: Receives pool from database via property
- CustomLZ4FrameReader: Accepts ArrayPool as constructor parameter
- CustomLZ4DecoderStream: Accepts ArrayPool as constructor parameter
- Lz4Utilities: Methods require ArrayPool parameter (no fallback)
- CloudFetchDownloader: Changed to use IHiveServer2Statement (was ITracingStatement)
- Readers: Get pool directly from connection and pass to LZ4 utilities

**Benefits:**
- Pool lifecycle tied to Database, not process lifetime
- Memory freed when Database is disposed/GC'd
- Perfect for connection pooling: multiple connections share one pool
- Cleaner design: no optional/nullable complexity

**Memory footprint:**
- With connection pooling: 10 connections → 1 shared pool = 40MB
- Without: Each Database instance → 1 pool = 40MB

Addresses review comment: apache#3654 (comment)

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Improves on the property setter approach by passing Lz4BufferPool via
internal constructor parameter, matching the RecyclableMemoryStreamManager pattern.

Changes:
- Added internal constructor that accepts Lz4BufferPool parameter
- Public constructor chains to internal constructor with null (creates own pool)
- DatabricksDatabase passes shared pool via internal constructor
- Property changed from mutable to immutable (get-only)
- No public API changes - backward compatible

Benefits:
- Compile-time safety - Database must explicitly pass the pool
- Immutable after construction - can't be changed accidentally
- Predictable initialization - pool created at construction time
- Consistent pattern with RecyclableMemoryStreamManager

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
@CurtHagenlocher CurtHagenlocher merged commit ac4b890 into apache:main Nov 7, 2025
6 checks passed
eric-wang-1990 added a commit to eric-wang-1990/arrow-adbc that referenced this pull request Nov 7, 2025
…mory-stream-lz4

Resolved conflicts by accepting ArrayPool approach from PR apache#3654:
- DatabricksConnection.cs: Use Lz4BufferPool (ArrayPool<byte>)
- DatabricksDatabase.cs: Use Lz4BufferPool instance
- Lz4Utilities.cs: Use ArrayPool<byte> parameter
- CloudFetchDownloader.cs: Use Lz4BufferPool
- Added CustomLZ4DecoderStream and CustomLZ4FrameReader

This replaces the RecyclableMemoryStreamManager approach with ArrayPool
for better memory management of LZ4 buffers.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>
eric-wang-1990 added a commit to eric-wang-1990/arrow-adbc that referenced this pull request Nov 7, 2025
This merge combines both memory management approaches:
- RecyclableMemoryStreamManager (for output streams)
- ArrayPool (for internal LZ4 decompression buffers)

Changes:
- DatabricksConnection: Added both RecyclableMemoryStreamManager and Lz4BufferPool properties
- DatabricksDatabase: Instantiates both pools and passes to connections
- Lz4Utilities: DecompressLz4Async now accepts both managers
- CloudFetchDownloader: Uses both for decompression operations
- Added CustomLZ4DecoderStream and CustomLZ4FrameReader from PR apache#3654
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3 participants