Performance in Distributed Systems
Performance refers to the system's ability to process requests
efficiently, minimize latency, and maximize throughput. Here’s how
to improve it:
✅ 1. Batching
Combine multiple small operations into a single large operation to
reduce overhead and improve efficiency.
Techniques:
● Request Batching – Group multiple API calls or network
requests into one.
Example: Sending 100 database insertions as a single
transaction.
● Write Coalescing – Combine multiple write operations
targeting the same data into a single write.
Example: Combining repeated writes to the same file into a
single disk I/O operation.
● Batch Processing – Process large datasets in chunks rather
than one by one.
Example: Hadoop's MapReduce processes large data sets in
batches.
✅ 2. Caching
Store frequently accessed data in a fast-access layer (memory) to
reduce response time and load on back-end systems.
Techniques:
● Memory-Based Caching – Use in-memory caches like Redis
or Memcached.
Example: Caching user session data to avoid repeated
database queries.
● Local vs. Distributed Caching
○ Local: Cache at the server level (faster but less
consistent).
○ Distributed: Cache across multiple nodes (more
consistent but slightly slower).
● Example: CDN (Content Delivery Network) caches static
assets globally.
● Cache Invalidation – Remove or update stale cache entries
to ensure consistency.
Example: Remove a product from the cache when it’s out of
stock.
✅ 3. Queue Making
Use queues to manage workload and prevent overloading of
system components.
Techniques:
● Message Queues – Use systems like Kafka or RabbitMQ to
decouple producers and consumers.
Example: A job processing system queues requests and
processes them sequentially.
● Load Smoothing – Use queues to handle sudden spikes in
traffic without overwhelming the system.
Example: Queueing customer requests during a flash sale to
prevent downtime.
● Priority-Based Queues – Assign priority to requests based
on importance.
Example: Prioritize payment processing over product search
during high traffic.
✅ 4. Use of Threads
Use multi-threading to parallelize processing and increase
throughput.
Techniques:
● Fine-Tuning Parallel Processing – Adjust the number of
worker threads based on CPU and memory capacity.
Example: Increasing thread pool size to better utilize
multi-core processors.
● Thread Pooling – Maintain a pool of reusable threads to
minimize creation and destruction overhead.
Example: Java ExecutorService for managing thread
pools.
● Asynchronous Processing – Use non-blocking I/O and
async calls to handle more requests simultaneously.
Example: [Link] event loop for handling concurrent HTTP
requests.
✅ 5. Data Copy
Minimize data movement to reduce latency and network load.
Techniques:
● Data Locality – Process data where it resides instead of
transferring it.
Example: Hadoop processes data in the same node where
it’s stored.
● Avoid Deep Copying – Use shallow copies or
reference-based data access where possible.
Example: Passing object references instead of deep copying
objects in Java.
● Replication Strategy – Replicate data closer to the user to
reduce access time.
Example: Replicating database shards in different
geographical regions.
