Does your project have to serve a large number of clients remotely? Then, most likely you already use gRPC framework or at least have heard about this technology. Its main idea lies in remote procedure invocation, which is relevant for working between a server and a client. In simple words, the client calls a procedure, sends a deserialized message, which is decrypted by the server. This is an ideal solution that has become more and more popular in recent years.
However, one of the nuances is performance. When you are working with this technology, it is important to achieve the best performance to ensure that there are no errors and delays in the entire system. For performance optimization, you will definitely need the best gRPC load testing tools and special skills. In this article, we want to save you from headaches by sharing five useful tips to optimize the performance of Google Remote Procedure Calling.
Contents
1. Choose a Suitable Strategy for Serialization
We won’t focus in this article on questions like what gRPC is and suggest that you go straight to the effective tips. The first possible solution is to choose the right serialization format. When microservices exchange information among themselves, they can’t deliver information in the form we are used to. For this purpose, data is first serialized and then deserialized when received.
For example, gRPC has a basic serialization format called Protocol Buffers (ProtoBuf). This is a proven and convenient option, but many people are unaware that other solutions exist. You can also choose FlatBuffers or JSON to serialize messages. FlatBuffers allows you to read data directly from the buffer and is great in the gaming industry. JSON, on the other hand, is usually chosen by those who often work with web services. Analyze your requirements to see which serialization format works best for your application. You may find it advantageous to use existing alternatives to save time and increase productivity.
2. Use HTTP/2 Multiplexing
In fact, the numerous advantages of gRPC make it an ideal choice among advanced technologies. This is why many global organizations prefer Google Remote Procedure Calling. The next method of gRPC optimization is to use HTTP/2. gRPC can be notably improved in performance by using HTTP/2 multiplexing as a feature that allows multiple requests and responses to all be sent over one connection. It reduces latency and, as a result, makes your system more efficient. Here are the key benefits of HTTP/2 multiplexing:
- Less overhead than traditional HTTP/1.1 connections.
- Higher throughput as less capacity used per packet.
For efficient handling of concurrent streams, you should optimize server settings. What do we mean? Adjust flow control and prioritization mechanisms so as to exploit multiplexing to its fullest extent. Without multiplexing, each request would require a new connection, creating unnecessary overhead and delay. Such communication can be streamlined, and data can be transferred faster using HTTP/2. In this way, there is no longer any need to reconnect and we greatly decrease latency. Multiplexing allows the network to simultaneously accept more requests than one and still not have to wait for the previous requests to finish, so resource utilization is better and throughput is higher.
3. Check the Load on Regular Basis
Undoubtedly, having high system loads can keep your customers waiting for long periods of time. In some cases, efficiency decreases without the entrepreneurs even knowing it. For this reason, if you are actively working with gRPC, you should regularly test the main load metrics.
However, a lot depends on what solutions you use for load testing. Today, there are several best tools for gRPC load testing and it can be difficult to choose one option. You should focus on your goals, scalability and consider functionality. Some experts often recommend SaaS tools because they are easy to use and don’t take up space on your device. Companies like PFLB provide state-of-the-art load testing solutions for Google Remote Procedure Calling.
4. Minimize the Message Size
Low performance of gRPC depends on reducing the size of messages sent. Smaller messages can also consume less bandwidth and be faster to transmit. The size can be minimized by defining the message structures as carefully as possible, removing unnecessary fields, and using compact data types. This overcomes overhead and speeds up, as well as uses more resources.
To further optimize, think about using data compression techniques like gzip that gRPC supports as long as you haven’t already done so. Messages with large payloads can be compressed greatly to reduce their size. This keeps message sizes small and your gRPC service responsive in spite of heavy load conditions.
5. Take Advantages of Caching
People often discuss ways to optimize gRPC performance on specialized forums. One of the frequent opinions covers the work with caching. gRPC services can be greatly improved in performance by caching. An application will save the needed data locally and no longer need to call the server for the same data repeatedly. In particular, this can be useful when your responses don’t change frequently, for example, config data or reference info.
Utilize caching mechanisms on the client and server sides in full. Implement in-memory caches to access them quickly on the client side and use distributed caching systems to achieve scalability on the server side. Proper caching can even speed up response times and decrease unneeded network traffic.
Final Thoughts
As you may have already understood, there are quite a lot of methods to optimize the performance of the gRPC framework. One of the most effective solutions is to minimize the message size. The less space the information to be sent takes up, the less load the process will cause on the server.
Do not forget to monitor important system metrics on a regular basis. We recommend using only proven tools to test gRPC performance for such purposes, such as products from PFLB company. Such solutions provide clear reporting in real time. This way you can clearly understand whether the system is working properly or not. We hope our tips from this article will be useful for you.
