The Node.js Scalability Myth

Transcript

1. The Node.js Scalability Myth Felix Geisendörfer 15.03.2012 at BerlinJS user

   group

2. (@)felixge(.de)

3. transloadit.com (using node since v0.0.6)

4. core contributor

5. I need to build an über-scalable web service. It will

   be the next big thing!

6. Easy! I will use node.js and MongoDB!

7. Easy! I will use node.js and MongoDB!

8. Because node.js is “scalable”, right?

9. None

10. Audience?

11. Backend Developers?

12. Are you measuring app performance in production?

13. 1000 req / s

14. 100 req / s

15. 10 req / s

16. 10 requests / per second = 864000 requests / day

    10 req / s

17. Scalability

18. None

19. The Node.js Scalability Myth • Threads don’t scale • Event

    loops do

20. The Node.js Scalability Myth • Threads don’t scale • Event

    loops do (Probably) not true in 2012 (Very likely) not relevant

21. More relevant • Understanding scalability • Using the right tool

    for the job

22. Vertical Scalability

23. Adding more resources to a single node

24. None

25. Vertical Scalability • CPU • GPUs • Memory • Disk

    • Network

26. CPU

27. Computers of the future will have hundreds of cores!

28. CPU • Node is single threaded (runs on a single

    CPU) • Using multiple CPUs requires multiple node processes (usually via prefork) • No shared memory

29. CPU (v8) • V8 compiles JS to Assembly • Just-in-time

    compilation (JIT) • Does reasonably well in those language “benchmarks”

30. GPUs

31. GPUs • No support in node itself • node-cuda addon

    by Kashif Rasul

32. Memory

33. Memory • No hard memory limit on 64 bit (since

    node-0.6 / v8-3.6.5) • JS is a garbage collected language (avoid huge heaps) • Buffers do not count towards heap

34. Network

35. Network • Node’s network stack is a thin layer on

    top of underlaying system calls • Good at fully saturating network interfaces

36. Disk

37. Disk • Done in thread pool • Unfortunately along with

    DNS at this point • Throughput ok, but not ideal yet

38. Horizontal Scalability

39. Adding more nodes to a system

40. Horizontal Scalability • Node has no horizontal scaling specific features,

    but ... • Fast networking & JSON / Buffers -> DIY

41. Horizontal Scalability • Simple stack (requires only build tools, python)

    • Deployable without container server • Good package management via npm

42. Horizontal Solution “I have the full solution ...”

43. Horizontal Solution “... but unfortunately it did not fit on

    this slide”

44. tl;dr • Know your requirements • There are no silver

    bullets

45. Questions? Slides will be available at felixge.de

46. Thanks