Snapshot of verae-nats-cluster (optimal NATS config study)

This commit is contained in:
George Lambert 2026-09-12 02:06:10 -04:00
commit 8639ca27ee
184 changed files with 10626 additions and 0 deletions

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scripts/bench-report.py Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Turn nats bench text logs + latency JSON into markdown."""
from __future__ import annotations
import json
import re
import sys
from pathlib import Path
def fmt_int(s: str | None) -> str:
if not s:
return ""
return f"{int(s):,}"
def parse_bench(text: str) -> dict[str, str]:
out: dict[str, str] = {"kind": "throughput"}
def _rate(pattern: str, msgs_key: str, mb_key: str) -> None:
m = re.search(pattern, text)
if not m:
return
out[msgs_key] = m.group(1).replace(",", "")
n = float(m.group(2))
unit = m.group(3).upper()
if unit == "KB":
n = n / 1024.0
elif unit == "GB":
n = n * 1024.0
out[mb_key] = f"{n:.2f}"
_rate(
r"(?m)^\s*Pub stats:\s*([0-9,]+)\s*msgs/sec\s*~\s*([0-9.]+)\s*(KB|MB|GB)/sec",
"pub_msgs",
"pub_mb",
)
_rate(
r"(?m)^\s*Sub stats:\s*([0-9,]+)\s*msgs/sec\s*~\s*([0-9.]+)\s*(KB|MB|GB)/sec",
"sub_msgs",
"sub_mb",
)
_rate(
r"NATS Pub/Sub stats:\s*([0-9,]+)\s*msgs/sec\s*~\s*([0-9.]+)\s*(KB|MB|GB)/sec",
"agg_msgs",
"agg_mb",
)
if "JetStream" in text or "--js" in text or "js-" in text:
out["mode"] = "jetstream r=3 file"
else:
out["mode"] = "core pub/sub"
# nats 0.1.6 prints min/avg/max as msgs/sec across publishers, not µs delay
m = re.search(
r"min\s+([0-9,]+)\s*\|\s*avg\s+([0-9,]+)\s*\|\s*max\s+([0-9,]+)\s*\|\s*stddev\s+([0-9,]+)\s*msgs",
text,
)
if m:
out["pub_spread"] = f"{m.group(1)}{m.group(3)} (avg {m.group(2)})"
return out
def parse_lat(text: str) -> dict[str, str] | None:
for line in text.splitlines():
line = line.strip()
if line.startswith("{") and "p99_us" in line:
d = json.loads(line)
mode = d.get("mode") or ""
return {
"kind": "latency",
"count": str(d.get("count", "")),
"pubs": str(d.get("pubs", "")),
"size": str(d.get("size", "")),
"mode": str(mode),
"min": d.get("min", ""),
"avg": d.get("avg", ""),
"p50": d.get("p50", ""),
"p90": d.get("p90", ""),
"p99": d.get("p99", ""),
"max": d.get("max", ""),
}
return None
def lat_mode(run: str, recorded: str) -> str:
if recorded in ("ping", "flood"):
return recorded
if "ping" in run:
return "ping"
return "flood"
def thru_sort(p: dict[str, str]) -> tuple:
return (0 if p.get("mode", "").startswith("core") else 1, p.get("run", ""))
def lat_sort(p: dict[str, str]) -> tuple:
mode = lat_mode(p.get("run", ""), p.get("mode", ""))
return (0 if mode == "ping" else 1, int(p.get("count") or 0), p.get("run", ""))
def main() -> int:
folder = Path(sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else ".")
thru: list[dict[str, str]] = []
lats: list[dict[str, str]] = []
for f in sorted(folder.glob("*.txt")):
text = f.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
lat = parse_lat(text)
if lat:
lat["run"] = f.stem
lats.append(lat)
continue
p = parse_bench(text)
if p.get("pub_msgs") or p.get("agg_msgs"):
p["run"] = f.stem
thru.append(p)
stamp = folder.name if re.fullmatch(r"\d{8}T\d{6}Z", folder.name) else ""
print("# NATS cluster message speed")
print()
if stamp:
print(f"Run **`{stamp}`** (UTC). ", end="")
print(
"Client: LXC **510** `verae-px-worker` (`10.10.10.20`), not a nats-* server. "
"Servers: `nats-a/b/c` on `10.10.10.2123` (`vmbr1` only)."
)
print()
print("Client URL:")
print()
print("```text")
print("nats://10.10.10.21:4222,nats://10.10.10.22:4222,nats://10.10.10.23:4222")
print("```")
print()
print("## Method")
print()
print("- **Core NATS** is fire-and-forget pub/sub (`nats bench`). No disk, no replica ack.")
print(
"- **JetStream** uses **file** storage and **replicas=3** (same as product streams). "
"The unique stream `benchstream` is deleted between JS loads."
)
print("- Throughput is **msgs/sec** from nats CLI **0.1.6** (`--no-progress --csv`). Its min/avg/max are publisher **rate spread**, not delay.")
print(
"- **Ping** delay: one publisher, sequential publish-then-wait. This is one-message round-trip through the cluster."
)
print(
"- **Flood** delay: N publishers dump the whole batch, then the subscriber drains. "
"This is **queueing under burst**, not wire RTT."
)
print("- Probe: `scripts/latency.mjs` (two connections, header timestamp).")
print()
print("## Throughput")
print()
print("| Run | Mode | Aggregate msgs/s | Pub msgs/s | Pub MB/s | Sub msgs/s | Sub MB/s |")
print("|-----|------|------------------|------------|----------|------------|----------|")
for p in sorted(thru, key=thru_sort):
print(
f"| `{p['run']}` | {p.get('mode', '')} | {fmt_int(p.get('agg_msgs'))} | "
f"{fmt_int(p.get('pub_msgs'))} | {p.get('pub_mb') or ''} | "
f"{fmt_int(p.get('sub_msgs'))} | {p.get('sub_mb') or ''} |"
)
print()
print("## Round-trip delay")
print()
print("| Run | Kind | Count | Pubs | Size | min | avg | p50 | p90 | p99 | max |")
print("|-----|------|-------|------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|")
for p in sorted(lats, key=lat_sort):
kind = lat_mode(p.get("run", ""), p.get("mode", ""))
label = "ping (sequential RTT)" if kind == "ping" else "flood (burst queueing)"
print(
f"| `{p['run']}` | {label} | {p.get('count', '')} | {p.get('pubs', '')} | "
f"{p.get('size', '')} B | {p.get('min', '')} | {p.get('avg', '')} | "
f"{p.get('p50', '')} | {p.get('p90', '')} | {p.get('p99', '')} | {p.get('max', '')} |"
)
print()
print("## What the numbers mean")
print()
print(
"Product job/event/archive traffic is **JetStream r=3 file**. On this three-LXC stand that is about "
"**16k durable 128 B pubs/s** (about **13k** at 1 KiB). Core NATS is an upper bound for "
"non-durable fan-out: about **0.72.0M msgs/s** aggregate at 128 B, or **~630k msgs/s (~616 MB/s)** at 1 KiB with 4 publishers."
)
print()
print(
"A quiet request-reply is **~0.3 ms** average, **p99 < 1 ms**. Flood rows in the **150500 ms** band "
"are the subscriber catching up after a burst, which is what a job-events mailbox sees if publishers outrun consumers."
)
print()
print("Re-run on NS1: `bash scripts/bench.sh`. Raw logs/CSVs are under `results/<utc>/`.")
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
raise SystemExit(main())

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scripts/bench.sh Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Message throughput and delay ladder against the 3-node vmbr1 cluster.
# Prefers a client that is not a nats-* server (px-worker LXC 510).
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/client.env"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
STAMP="$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
OUT="${BENCH_OUT:-$ROOT/results/$STAMP}"
CLIENT_VMID="${CLIENT_VMID:-510}"
mkdir -p "$OUT"
ensure_nats_cli() {
local vmid="$1"
sudo pct exec "$vmid" -- bash -lc '
set -e
export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
if [[ ! -x /usr/local/bin/nats ]]; then
apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unzip curl ca-certificates >/dev/null
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nats-io/natscli/releases/download/v0.1.6/nats-0.1.6-linux-amd64.zip -o /tmp/natscli.zip
rm -rf /tmp/natscli && mkdir -p /tmp/natscli
unzip -o /tmp/natscli.zip -d /tmp/natscli >/dev/null
BIN=$(find /tmp/natscli -type f -name nats | head -1)
install -m 0755 "$BIN" /usr/local/bin/nats
fi
nats --version
'
}
run_one() {
local name="$1"
shift
echo "=== $name ===" | tee "$OUT/$name.txt"
# nats bench writes csv itself when --csv is a path inside the guest
sudo pct exec "$CLIENT_VMID" -- bash -lc "
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
export NATS_URL='$NATS_URL'
nats bench --no-progress --csv=/tmp/bench.csv $*
" | tee -a "$OUT/$name.txt"
sudo pct exec "$CLIENT_VMID" -- cat /tmp/bench.csv >"$OUT/$name.csv" || true
}
echo "client LXC $CLIENT_VMID NATS_URL=$NATS_URL out=$OUT"
ensure_nats_cli "$CLIENT_VMID"
# Core NATS pub/sub — increasing publishers (same 128 B payload)
run_one core-1p1s-50k-128 bench.core.a --pub 1 --sub 1 --msgs 50000 --size 128
run_one core-4p4s-100k-128 bench.core.b --pub 4 --sub 4 --msgs 100000 --size 128
run_one core-8p8s-200k-128 bench.core.c --pub 8 --sub 8 --msgs 200000 --size 128
run_one core-4p4s-50k-1k bench.core.d --pub 4 --sub 4 --msgs 50000 --size 1024
js_rm() {
sudo pct exec "$CLIENT_VMID" -- bash -lc "
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
export NATS_URL='$NATS_URL'
nats stream rm benchstream --force >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
"
}
# JetStream file store, replicas=3 (matches product streams)
js_rm
run_one js-1p-20k-128-r3 bench.js.a --js --purge --pub 1 --msgs 20000 --size 128 --replicas 3 --storage file --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-4p-50k-128-r3 bench.js.b --js --purge --pub 4 --msgs 50000 --size 128 --replicas 3 --storage file --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-4p-20k-1k-r3 bench.js.c --js --purge --pub 4 --msgs 20000 --size 1024 --replicas 3 --storage file --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-2p2s-20k-128-r3 bench.js.d --js --purge --pub 2 --sub 2 --msgs 20000 --size 128 --replicas 3 --storage file --maxbytes=512MB --pull --stream=benchstream
js_rm
# Optional native memory-store ladder (same replica count). Used by maximize-ns1-study.sh.
if [[ "${JS_EXTRA_MEMORY:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
js_rm
run_one js-mem-1p-20k-128-r3 bench.js.m1 --js --purge --pub 1 --msgs 20000 --size 128 --replicas 3 --storage memory --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-mem-4p-50k-128-r3 bench.js.m2 --js --purge --pub 4 --msgs 50000 --size 128 --replicas 3 --storage memory --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-mem-4p-20k-1k-r3 bench.js.m3 --js --purge --pub 4 --msgs 20000 --size 1024 --replicas 3 --storage memory --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
fi
# Factorial extras: replicas=1 vs 3, file vs memory (does not touch product streams).
if [[ "${EXHAUSTIVE:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
js_rm
run_one js-file-1p-20k-128-r1 bench.js.e1 --js --purge --pub 1 --msgs 20000 --size 128 --replicas 1 --storage file --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-file-4p-50k-128-r1 bench.js.e2 --js --purge --pub 4 --msgs 50000 --size 128 --replicas 1 --storage file --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-mem-1p-20k-128-r1 bench.js.e3 --js --purge --pub 1 --msgs 20000 --size 128 --replicas 1 --storage memory --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-mem-4p-50k-128-r1 bench.js.e4 --js --purge --pub 4 --msgs 50000 --size 128 --replicas 1 --storage memory --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
run_one js-file-1p-20k-4k-r3 bench.js.e5 --js --purge --pub 1 --msgs 20000 --size 4096 --replicas 3 --storage file --maxbytes=512MB --stream=benchstream
js_rm
fi
# Round-trip delay (two connections, through the cluster) at several loads
sudo pct exec "$CLIENT_VMID" -- bash -lc "
set -e
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
export NATS_URL='$NATS_URL'
mkdir -p /tmp/nats-lat
cd /tmp/nats-lat
if [[ ! -d node_modules/nats ]]; then
npm init -y >/dev/null
npm install --no-audit --no-fund nats@2 >/dev/null
fi
" >/dev/null
sudo pct push "$CLIENT_VMID" "$ROOT/scripts/latency.mjs" /tmp/nats-lat/latency.mjs || \
sudo pct exec "$CLIENT_VMID" -- bash -c 'cat > /tmp/nats-lat/latency.mjs' < "$ROOT/scripts/latency.mjs"
lat() {
local name="$1" n="$2" sz="$3" p="$4" mode="${5:-flood}"
echo "=== $name ===" | tee "$OUT/$name.txt"
sudo pct exec "$CLIENT_VMID" -- bash -lc "
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
export NATS_URL='$NATS_URL'
cd /tmp/nats-lat
node latency.mjs $n $sz $p $mode
" | tee -a "$OUT/$name.txt"
}
# copy latest probe
sudo pct exec "$CLIENT_VMID" -- bash -c 'cat > /tmp/nats-lat/latency.mjs' < "$ROOT/scripts/latency.mjs"
lat lat-ping-1k-128 1000 128 1 ping
if [[ "${EXHAUSTIVE:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
lat lat-reconnect-200-128 200 128 1 reconnect
fi
lat lat-1p-5k-128 5000 128 1 flood
lat lat-4p-10k-128 10000 128 4 flood
lat lat-8p-20k-128 20000 128 8 flood
lat lat-4p-5k-1k 5000 1024 4 flood
python3 "$ROOT/scripts/bench-report.py" "$OUT" >"$OUT/BENCH.md"
cp "$OUT/BENCH.md" "$ROOT/BENCH.md"
echo "wrote $OUT/BENCH.md and $ROOT/BENCH.md"

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scripts/build-ns1-study-report.py Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Build the NS1-host study report (charts + markdown + HTML + PDF) from a results dir.
Must be able to run entirely on NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG with python3, matplotlib,
pandoc, and weasyprint. Parses nats bench logs; does not hard-code rates.
"""
from __future__ import annotations
import json
import re
import subprocess
import sys
from pathlib import Path
ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
import importlib.util
_spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
"bench_report", Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "bench-report.py"
)
_br = importlib.util.module_from_spec(_spec)
assert _spec.loader is not None
_spec.loader.exec_module(_br)
fmt_int = _br.fmt_int
lat_mode = _br.lat_mode
lat_sort = _br.lat_sort
parse_bench = _br.parse_bench
parse_lat = _br.parse_lat
thru_sort = _br.thru_sort
try:
import matplotlib
matplotlib.use("Agg")
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib.ticker import FuncFormatter
except ImportError as e:
raise SystemExit(f"matplotlib required on NS1: {e}") from e
INDIGO = "#4f46e5"
DEEP = "#312e81"
TEAL = "#047857"
AMBER = "#b45309"
LILAC = "#7c74f0"
INK = "#171a26"
MUTED = "#5b6178"
GRID = "#d9dce8"
CORE_LABELS = {
"core-1p1s-50k-128": "1p1s\n50k×128 B",
"core-4p4s-100k-128": "4p4s\n100k×128 B",
"core-8p8s-200k-128": "8p8s\n200k×128 B",
"core-4p4s-50k-1k": "4p4s\n50k×1 KiB",
}
JS_LABELS = {
"js-1p-20k-128-r3": "1p 20k×128 B",
"js-4p-50k-128-r3": "4p 50k×128 B",
"js-4p-20k-1k-r3": "4p 20k×1 KiB",
"js-2p2s-20k-128-r3": "2p2s pull 20k×128 B",
"js-mem-1p-20k-128-r3": "mem 1p 128 B",
"js-mem-4p-50k-128-r3": "mem 4p 128 B",
"js-mem-4p-20k-1k-r3": "mem 4p 1 KiB",
}
LAT_LABELS = {
"lat-ping-1k-128": "Ping\n1k×128 B",
"lat-1p-5k-128": "Flood 1p\n5k×128 B",
"lat-4p-5k-1k": "Flood 4p\n5k×1 KiB",
"lat-4p-10k-128": "Flood 4p\n10k×128 B",
"lat-8p-20k-128": "Flood 8p\n20k×128 B",
}
def ms(s: str) -> float:
return float(s.replace("ms", "").replace(",", "").strip())
def k_fmt(x: float, _pos: int | None = None) -> str:
if x >= 1_000_000:
return f"{x / 1_000_000:.2f}M"
if x >= 1000:
return f"{x / 1000:.0f}k"
return f"{x:.0f}"
def style() -> None:
plt.rcParams.update(
{
"font.family": "sans-serif",
"font.size": 10,
"axes.titlesize": 12,
"axes.titleweight": "semibold",
"axes.edgecolor": GRID,
"axes.labelcolor": INK,
"text.color": INK,
"xtick.color": MUTED,
"ytick.color": MUTED,
"figure.facecolor": "white",
"axes.facecolor": "white",
"axes.grid": True,
"grid.color": GRID,
"grid.linewidth": 0.8,
"legend.frameon": False,
"savefig.bbox": "tight",
"savefig.dpi": 160,
"savefig.facecolor": "white",
}
)
def save(fig: plt.Figure, path: Path) -> None:
fig.savefig(path, dpi=160)
plt.close(fig)
def load_runs(folder: Path) -> tuple[list[dict[str, str]], list[dict[str, str]]]:
thru: list[dict[str, str]] = []
lats: list[dict[str, str]] = []
for f in sorted(folder.glob("*.txt")):
if f.name.startswith("host-"):
continue
text = f.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
lat = parse_lat(text)
if lat:
lat["run"] = f.stem
lats.append(lat)
continue
p = parse_bench(text)
if p.get("pub_msgs") or p.get("agg_msgs"):
p["run"] = f.stem
thru.append(p)
return sorted(thru, key=thru_sort), sorted(lats, key=lat_sort)
def kv_file(path: Path) -> dict[str, str]:
out: dict[str, str] = {}
if not path.exists():
return out
for line in path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace").splitlines():
if "=" in line and not line.startswith("---"):
k, _, v = line.partition("=")
if k.strip() in out:
continue
out[k.strip()] = v.strip()
return out
def thru_table(thru: list[dict[str, str]]) -> str:
lines = [
"| Run | Mode | Aggregate msgs/s | Pub msgs/s | Pub MB/s | Sub msgs/s | Sub MB/s |",
"|-----|------|------------------|------------|----------|------------|----------|",
]
for p in thru:
lines.append(
f"| `{p['run']}` | {p.get('mode', '')} | {fmt_int(p.get('agg_msgs'))} | "
f"{fmt_int(p.get('pub_msgs'))} | {p.get('pub_mb') or ''} | "
f"{fmt_int(p.get('sub_msgs'))} | {p.get('sub_mb') or ''} |"
)
return "\n".join(lines)
def delay_table(lats: list[dict[str, str]]) -> str:
lines = [
"| Run | Kind | Count | Pubs | Size | min | avg | p50 | p90 | p99 | max |",
"|-----|------|-------|------|------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|",
]
for p in lats:
kind = lat_mode(p.get("run", ""), p.get("mode", ""))
label = "ping (sequential RTT)" if kind == "ping" else "flood (burst queueing)"
lines.append(
f"| `{p['run']}` | {label} | {p.get('count', '')} | {p.get('pubs', '')} | "
f"{p.get('size', '')} B | {p.get('min', '')} | {p.get('avg', '')} | "
f"{p.get('p50', '')} | {p.get('p90', '')} | {p.get('p99', '')} | {p.get('max', '')} |"
)
return "\n".join(lines)
def varz_table(path: Path) -> str:
if not path.exists():
return "_varz snapshot not captured._"
rows = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
lines = [
"| Node | VMID | connections | in_msgs | out_msgs | cpu | cores | mem (B) | jetstream |",
"|------|------|-------------|---------|----------|-----|-------|---------|-----------|",
]
for r in rows:
if r.get("error"):
lines.append(f"| {r.get('name')} | {r.get('vmid')} | error: {r['error']} | | | | | | |")
continue
lines.append(
f"| {r.get('name')} | {r.get('vmid')} | {r.get('connections')} | "
f"{r.get('in_msgs'):,} | {r.get('out_msgs'):,} | {r.get('cpu')} | "
f"{r.get('cores')} | {r.get('mem'):,} | {r.get('jetstream')} |"
)
return "\n".join(lines)
def charts(thru: list[dict[str, str]], lats: list[dict[str, str]], dest: Path) -> None:
dest.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
style()
by = {p["run"]: p for p in thru}
core_keys = [k for k in CORE_LABELS if k in by]
if core_keys:
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9.2, 4.4))
x = list(range(len(core_keys)))
w = 0.25
agg = [int(by[k].get("agg_msgs") or 0) for k in core_keys]
pub = [int(by[k].get("pub_msgs") or 0) for k in core_keys]
sub = [int(by[k].get("sub_msgs") or 0) for k in core_keys]
ax.bar([i - w for i in x], agg, w, label="Aggregate", color=DEEP)
ax.bar(x, pub, w, label="Publish", color=INDIGO)
ax.bar([i + w for i in x], sub, w, label="Subscribe", color=TEAL)
ax.set_xticks(x, [CORE_LABELS[k] for k in core_keys])
ax.set_ylabel("messages / second")
ax.set_title("Core NATS throughput (fire-and-forget) — NS1 host run")
ax.yaxis.set_major_formatter(FuncFormatter(k_fmt))
ax.legend(loc="upper left")
ax.set_axisbelow(True)
save(fig, dest / "core-throughput.png")
js_keys = [k for k in JS_LABELS if k in by]
if js_keys:
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9.2, 4.4))
pubs = [int(by[k].get("pub_msgs") or 0) for k in js_keys]
colors = [INDIGO, INDIGO, AMBER, LILAC][: len(js_keys)]
ax.bar([JS_LABELS[k] for k in js_keys], pubs, color=colors)
ax.set_ylabel("durable publish messages / second")
ax.set_title("JetStream file store, replicas=3 — NS1 host run")
ax.yaxis.set_major_formatter(FuncFormatter(k_fmt))
ax.set_axisbelow(True)
for i, v in enumerate(pubs):
ax.text(i, v * 1.02, f"{v:,}", ha="center", va="bottom", fontsize=9, color=MUTED)
save(fig, dest / "js-throughput.png")
pair = [("core-1p1s-50k-128", "js-1p-20k-128-r3"), ("core-4p4s-100k-128", "js-4p-50k-128-r3"), ("core-4p4s-50k-1k", "js-4p-20k-1k-r3")]
if all(c in by and j in by for c, j in pair):
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9.2, 4.4))
labels = ["1 publisher\n128 B", "4 publishers\n128 B", "4 publishers\n1 KiB"]
core_pub = [int(by[c]["pub_msgs"]) for c, _ in pair]
js_pub = [int(by[j]["pub_msgs"]) for _, j in pair]
x = list(range(3))
w = 0.35
ax.bar([i - w / 2 for i in x], core_pub, w, label="Core NATS (no disk)", color=INDIGO)
ax.bar([i + w / 2 for i in x], js_pub, w, label="JetStream r=3 file", color=AMBER)
ax.set_xticks(x, labels)
ax.set_yscale("log")
ax.set_ylabel("publish messages / second (log)")
ax.set_title("Core vs JetStream — NS1 host run")
ax.legend(loc="upper right")
ax.set_axisbelow(True)
save(fig, dest / "core-vs-js.png")
if "core-4p4s-100k-128" in by and "core-4p4s-50k-1k" in by:
fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 2, figsize=(9.2, 4.2))
labels = ["128 B\n4p4s", "1 KiB\n4p4s"]
msgs = [int(by["core-4p4s-100k-128"].get("agg_msgs") or 0), int(by["core-4p4s-50k-1k"].get("agg_msgs") or 0)]
mb = [float(by["core-4p4s-100k-128"].get("agg_mb") or 0), float(by["core-4p4s-50k-1k"].get("agg_mb") or 0)]
axes[0].bar(labels, msgs, color=[INDIGO, AMBER])
axes[0].set_title("Aggregate messages / second")
axes[0].yaxis.set_major_formatter(FuncFormatter(k_fmt))
axes[1].bar(labels, mb, color=[INDIGO, AMBER])
axes[1].set_title("Aggregate MB / second")
fig.suptitle("Core NATS payload effect — NS1 host run", fontsize=12, fontweight="semibold")
fig.tight_layout()
save(fig, dest / "payload-size.png")
if lats:
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9.2, 4.6))
ordered = [p for p in lats]
labels = [LAT_LABELS.get(p["run"], p["run"]) for p in ordered]
x = list(range(len(ordered)))
w = 0.25
p50 = [ms(p["p50"]) for p in ordered]
p90 = [ms(p["p90"]) for p in ordered]
p99 = [ms(p["p99"]) for p in ordered]
ax.bar([i - w for i in x], p50, w, label="p50", color=TEAL)
ax.bar(x, p90, w, label="p90", color=INDIGO)
ax.bar([i + w for i in x], p99, w, label="p99", color=AMBER)
ax.set_xticks(x, labels)
ax.set_yscale("log")
ax.set_ylabel("milliseconds (log)")
ax.set_title("Round-trip delay — NS1 host run")
ax.axhline(1.0, color=GRID, linestyle="--", linewidth=1)
ax.legend(loc="upper left")
ax.set_axisbelow(True)
save(fig, dest / "delay-percentiles.png")
def figure(name: str, caption: str) -> str:
return f"![{caption}](charts/{name})\n\n*{caption}*"
def ratio(new: str | None, old: str | None) -> str:
if not new or not old:
return ""
a, b = float(new), float(old)
if b == 0:
return ""
return f"{a / b:.2f}×"
def delay_ms_val(p: dict[str, str] | None, key: str) -> str | None:
if not p or not p.get(key):
return None
return str(ms(p[key]))
def delta_table(
thru: list[dict[str, str]],
lats: list[dict[str, str]],
base_thru: list[dict[str, str]],
base_lats: list[dict[str, str]],
base_stamp: str,
) -> str:
bt = {p["run"]: p for p in base_thru}
nt = {p["run"]: p for p in thru}
bl = {p["run"]: p for p in base_lats}
nl = {p["run"]: p for p in lats}
keys = [
("core-1p1s-50k-128", "pub", "Core 1p1s 128 B pub msgs/s"),
("core-8p8s-200k-128", "agg", "Core 8p8s 128 B aggregate msgs/s"),
("js-1p-20k-128-r3", "pub", "JS file r=3 1p 128 B pub msgs/s"),
("js-4p-50k-128-r3", "pub", "JS file r=3 4p 128 B pub msgs/s"),
("js-4p-20k-1k-r3", "pub", "JS file r=3 4p 1 KiB pub msgs/s"),
("js-mem-1p-20k-128-r3", "pub", "JS memory r=3 1p 128 B pub msgs/s"),
("js-mem-4p-50k-128-r3", "pub", "JS memory r=3 4p 128 B pub msgs/s"),
]
lines = [
f"| Metric | Baseline `{base_stamp}` | This run | Ratio |",
"|--------|-------------------------|----------|-------|",
]
for run, kind, label in keys:
old, new = bt.get(run), nt.get(run)
ok = "pub_msgs" if kind == "pub" else "agg_msgs"
ov = old.get(ok) if old else None
nv = new.get(ok) if new else None
lines.append(f"| {label} | {fmt_int(ov)} | {fmt_int(nv)} | {ratio(nv, ov)} |")
old_p, new_p = bl.get("lat-ping-1k-128"), nl.get("lat-ping-1k-128")
if old_p or new_p:
ov = delay_ms_val(old_p, "p99")
nv = delay_ms_val(new_p, "p99")
# smaller delay is better — invert ratio label
r = ""
if ov and nv and float(nv) != 0:
r = f"{float(ov) / float(nv):.2f}× faster" if float(nv) < float(ov) else f"{float(nv) / float(ov):.2f}× slower"
lines.append(
f"| Ping p99 (ms) | {old_p.get('p99') if old_p else ''} | {new_p.get('p99') if new_p else ''} | {r} |"
)
return "\n".join(lines)
def chart_delta(
thru: list[dict[str, str]],
base_thru: list[dict[str, str]],
dest: Path,
) -> None:
bt = {p["run"]: p for p in base_thru}
nt = {p["run"]: p for p in thru}
labels = ["Core 1p\n128 B pub", "JS file 1p\n128 B", "JS file 4p\n128 B", "JS mem 1p\n128 B"]
keys = ["core-1p1s-50k-128", "js-1p-20k-128-r3", "js-4p-50k-128-r3", "js-mem-1p-20k-128-r3"]
old = [int(bt[k]["pub_msgs"]) if k in bt and bt[k].get("pub_msgs") else 0 for k in keys]
new = [int(nt[k]["pub_msgs"]) if k in nt and nt[k].get("pub_msgs") else 0 for k in keys]
if not any(new):
return
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9.2, 4.4))
x = list(range(len(labels)))
w = 0.35
ax.bar([i - w / 2 for i in x], old, w, label="Baseline 1c/1G/ZFS", color=MUTED)
ax.bar([i + w / 2 for i in x], new, w, label="8c/16G/tmpfs (+ mem rows)", color=INDIGO)
ax.set_xticks(x, labels)
ax.set_yscale("log")
ax.set_ylabel("publish messages / second (log)")
ax.set_title("Measured delta vs 20260912T051237Z")
ax.legend(loc="upper right")
ax.set_axisbelow(True)
save(fig, dest / "delta-vs-baseline.png")
def write_markdown(
folder: Path,
thru: list[dict[str, str]],
lats: list[dict[str, str]],
compare: Path | None = None,
) -> str:
before = kv_file(folder / "host-before.txt")
after = kv_file(folder / "host-after.txt")
stamp = folder.name
method = (Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "ns1-study-methodology.md").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
delta_md = ""
base_thru: list[dict[str, str]] = []
base_lats: list[dict[str, str]] = []
if compare and compare.is_dir():
base_thru, base_lats = load_runs(compare)
delta_md = (
f"## Measured delta vs `{compare.name}`\n\n"
"Baseline: 1 core / 1 GiB / JetStream on ZFS. This run: 8 cores / 16 GiB / "
"JetStream **tmpfs** (file r=3) plus extra **memory** store rows. veth/10G unchanged.\n\n"
+ delta_table(thru, lats, base_thru, base_lats, compare.name)
+ "\n"
)
if (folder / "charts" / "delta-vs-baseline.png").exists():
delta_md += "\n" + figure("delta-vs-baseline.png", "Baseline vs maximized publish rates (log)")
delta_md += "\n"
figs = []
charts_dir = folder / "charts"
if (charts_dir / "core-throughput.png").exists():
figs.append("### Core NATS\n\n" + figure("core-throughput.png", "Core NATS throughput at four loads (NS1 host run)"))
if (charts_dir / "payload-size.png").exists():
figs.append("### Payload size (core)\n\n" + figure("payload-size.png", "Core NATS 128 B vs 1 KiB (NS1 host run)"))
if (charts_dir / "js-throughput.png").exists():
figs.append("### JetStream r=3 file\n\n" + figure("js-throughput.png", "JetStream durable publish rate (NS1 host run)"))
if (charts_dir / "core-vs-js.png").exists():
figs.append("### Core vs JetStream\n\n" + figure("core-vs-js.png", "Core vs JetStream publish rate, log scale (NS1 host run)"))
if (charts_dir / "delay-percentiles.png").exists():
figs.append("### Delay\n\n" + figure("delay-percentiles.png", "Ping vs flood delay percentiles, log scale (NS1 host run)"))
ping = next((p for p in lats if "ping" in p.get("run", "")), None)
js1 = next((p for p in thru if p["run"] == "js-1p-20k-128-r3"), None)
core1 = next((p for p in thru if p["run"] == "core-1p1s-50k-128"), None)
md = f"""**Progress report (maximized NS1 study)** · run `{stamp}` (UTC)
> **Execution provenance.** Every process for this study ran on **NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG** (`70.88.205.138`): `maximize-ns1-study.sh` (cores/RAM/`max_mem`/tmpfs), then `study-on-ns1.sh`, `nats bench`, `latency.mjs` (LXC 510), matplotlib, pandoc, weasyprint. Traffic stayed on `vmbr1`. veth/10G was **not** changed. After the ladder, JetStream was put back on ZFS and product streams were re-created; **8 cores / 16 GiB / max_mem 8G stay**.
{delta_md}
---
## 1. Executive summary
| Item | This NS1-host run |
|------|-------------------|
| Control plane | NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG (`70.88.205.138`), user `{before.get("whoami", "marchon")}` |
| Bench client | LXC {before.get("client_vmid", "510")} `verae-px-worker` |
| Brokers | LXC 511/512/513 `nats-a/b/c` on `10.10.10.2123` |
| Client URL | `{before.get("nats_url", "")}` |
| Host load before | `{before.get("loadavg", "n/a")}` |
| Host load after | `{after.get("loadavg", "n/a")}` |
| Core 1p1s 128 B pub | {fmt_int(core1.get("pub_msgs") if core1 else None)} msgs/s |
| JetStream 1p 128 B r=3 | {fmt_int(js1.get("pub_msgs") if js1 else None)} durable pubs/s |
| Ping p50 / p99 | {ping.get("p50") if ping else ""} / {ping.get("p99") if ping else ""} |
Product traffic is the JetStream row. Ping is one-message delay. Flood is mailbox catch-up after a burst.
---
## 2. Where it ran (and where it did not)
```text
Operator laptop ssh NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG 70.88.205.138
study-on-ns1.sh
python3 build-ns1-study-report.py
sudo pct exec 510 nats bench / latency.mjs
vmbr1
10.10.10.21-23 :4222
```
- **Did run on 138:** bash, python3, matplotlib, pandoc, weasyprint, `pct`, nats-server (in LXC), nats CLI and Node (in LXC 510).
- **Did not run on the laptop:** no local `nats bench`, no local charting, no local WeasyPrint for this file.
---
## 3. Results (this run)
### Host and brokers
**Before**
{varz_table(folder / "varz-before.json")}
**After**
{varz_table(folder / "varz-after.json")}
nproc={before.get("nproc", "?")} · uname=`{before.get("uname", "")}`
### Throughput
{thru_table(thru)}
### Round-trip delay
{delay_table(lats)}
{chr(10).join(figs)}
---
{method}
---
## 6. Reproducing this study
On **NS1 only**:
```bash
cd ~/verae-src/verae-nats-cluster
bash scripts/study-on-ns1.sh
```
The script exits if `hostname` is not NS1. Outputs land in `results/<utc>/` including `nats-cluster-bench-ns1.{{md,html,pdf}}` and `charts/`. Copy those into `zapier-decisions/reports/` for the progress repo and catalog.
Raw logs for this run: `results/{stamp}/`.
"""
return md
def render(md_path: Path, html_path: Path, pdf_path: Path) -> None:
css = Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "docs-print.css"
header = html_path.with_suffix(".hdr.html")
banner = html_path.with_suffix(".ban.html")
css_text = css.read_text(encoding="utf-8") if css.exists() else ""
header.write_text(f"<style>{css_text}</style>\n", encoding="utf-8")
banner.write_text(
'<div class="doc-banner">'
'<nav class="site"><a href="/">zapier.georgelambert.org</a>'
' · <a href="/index-md.html">Markdown indexes</a></nav>'
'<div class="kicker">Verae Time × Zapier · progress report · maximized NS1 study</div>'
"<h1>NATS cluster message speed — maximized (RAM disk + 8 cores)</h1>"
'<div class="source-path">packages/zapier-decisions/reports/nats-cluster-bench-ns1.md</div>'
"</div>\n",
encoding="utf-8",
)
r = subprocess.run(
[
"pandoc",
str(md_path),
"-o",
str(html_path),
"--standalone",
f"--resource-path={md_path.parent}",
"--highlight-style=breezedark",
"--metadata=title=NATS cluster message speed — NS1 host study",
f"--include-in-header={header}",
f"--include-before-body={banner}",
],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
)
header.unlink(missing_ok=True)
banner.unlink(missing_ok=True)
if r.returncode != 0:
raise SystemExit(f"pandoc failed: {r.stderr[-800:]}")
w = subprocess.run(["weasyprint", str(html_path), str(pdf_path)], capture_output=True, text=True)
if w.returncode != 0:
raise SystemExit(f"weasyprint failed: {w.stderr[-800:]}")
def main() -> int:
folder = Path(sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else ".")
compare = Path(sys.argv[2]) if len(sys.argv) > 2 and sys.argv[2] else None
thru, lats = load_runs(folder)
charts(thru, lats, folder / "charts")
if compare and compare.is_dir():
base_thru, _base_lats = load_runs(compare)
chart_delta(thru, base_thru, folder / "charts")
md = write_markdown(folder, thru, lats, compare if compare and compare.is_dir() else None)
md_path = folder / "nats-cluster-bench-ns1.md"
md_path.write_text(md, encoding="utf-8")
html_path = folder / "nats-cluster-bench-ns1.html"
pdf_path = folder / "nats-cluster-bench-ns1.pdf"
render(md_path, html_path, pdf_path)
print(f"wrote {md_path}")
print(f"wrote {html_path}")
print(f"wrote {pdf_path}")
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
raise SystemExit(main())

View file

@ -0,0 +1,400 @@
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""One large comparison report from all NS1 result folders + extras (UDP/MQTT/reconnect)."""
from __future__ import annotations
import importlib.util
import json
import re
import subprocess
import sys
from pathlib import Path
import matplotlib
matplotlib.use("Agg")
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from matplotlib.ticker import FuncFormatter
_spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
"bench_report", Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "bench-report.py"
)
_br = importlib.util.module_from_spec(_spec)
assert _spec.loader
_spec.loader.exec_module(_br)
fmt_int = _br.fmt_int
parse_bench = _br.parse_bench
parse_lat = _br.parse_lat
INDIGO, DEEP, TEAL, AMBER, MUTED = "#4f46e5", "#312e81", "#047857", "#b45309", "#5b6178"
def k_fmt(x, _p=None):
if x >= 1_000_000:
return f"{x/1e6:.2f}M"
if x >= 1000:
return f"{x/1000:.0f}k"
return f"{x:.0f}"
def load_folder(folder: Path) -> dict:
thru, lats, extra = {}, {}, {}
if not folder.is_dir():
return {"thru": thru, "lats": lats, "extra": extra, "stamp": folder.name}
for f in folder.glob("*.txt"):
text = f.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
if f.name.startswith("host-"):
continue
if "mqtt" in f.name or "udp-ping" in f.name:
for line in text.splitlines():
line = line.strip()
if line.startswith("{"):
extra[f.stem] = json.loads(line)
break
continue
lat = parse_lat(text)
if lat:
lats[f.stem] = lat
continue
p = parse_bench(text)
if p.get("pub_msgs") or p.get("agg_msgs"):
thru[f.stem] = p
return {"thru": thru, "lats": lats, "extra": extra, "stamp": folder.name}
def pub(d, run):
p = d["thru"].get(run) or {}
return p.get("pub_msgs")
def latp(d, run, key="p99"):
p = d["lats"].get(run) or {}
return p.get(key, "")
def row(*cells):
return "| " + " | ".join(cells) + " |"
def save(fig, path: Path):
fig.savefig(path, dpi=150, bbox_inches="tight", facecolor="white")
plt.close(fig)
def charts(latest: dict, folders: list[dict], dest: Path):
dest.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
plt.rcParams.update({"font.size": 9, "axes.grid": True, "grid.color": "#d9dce8"})
# r=1 vs r=3 file/mem from latest
labels, file_r, mem_r = [], [], []
for lab, fr, mr in (
("1p file", "js-file-1p-20k-128-r1", "js-1p-20k-128-r3"),
("4p file", "js-file-4p-50k-128-r1", "js-4p-50k-128-r3"),
("1p mem", "js-mem-1p-20k-128-r1", "js-mem-1p-20k-128-r3"),
("4p mem", "js-mem-4p-50k-128-r1", "js-mem-4p-50k-128-r3"),
):
a, b = pub(latest, fr), pub(latest, mr)
if a or b:
labels.append(lab)
file_r.append(int(a or 0))
mem_r.append(int(b or 0))
if labels:
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9.2, 4.3))
x = range(len(labels))
ax.bar([i - 0.2 for i in x], file_r, 0.4, label="replicas=1", color=TEAL)
ax.bar([i + 0.2 for i in x], mem_r, 0.4, label="replicas=3", color=AMBER)
ax.set_xticks(list(x), labels)
ax.set_ylabel("pub msgs/s")
ax.set_title("This run: replica cost (1 vs 3)")
ax.yaxis.set_major_formatter(FuncFormatter(k_fmt))
ax.legend()
save(fig, dest / "replicas.png")
# historical JS 1p file
names, vals = [], []
for d, label in zip(
folders,
[d["stamp"] for d in folders],
):
v = pub(d, "js-1p-20k-128-r3")
if v:
names.append(label[-7:] if len(label) > 8 else label)
vals.append(int(v))
if names:
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(9.2, 4.0))
ax.bar(names, vals, color=INDIGO)
ax.set_title("JS file r=3 1p 128 B across studies")
ax.set_ylabel("pub msgs/s")
ax.yaxis.set_major_formatter(FuncFormatter(k_fmt))
save(fig, dest / "history-js1p.png")
def write_md(latest: dict, hist: list[dict], charts_rel: str) -> str:
t = latest["thru"]
e = latest["extra"]
mqtt = e.get("mqtt-qos0-5k-128") or {}
udp = e.get("udp-ping-1k-128") or {}
ping = latest["lats"].get("lat-ping-1k-128") or {}
recon = latest["lats"].get("lat-reconnect-200-128") or {}
def js_table():
runs = [
("js-file-1p-20k-128-r1", "file r=1 1p 128 B"),
("js-file-4p-50k-128-r1", "file r=1 4p 128 B"),
("js-1p-20k-128-r3", "file r=3 1p 128 B"),
("js-4p-50k-128-r3", "file r=3 4p 128 B"),
("js-4p-20k-1k-r3", "file r=3 4p 1 KiB"),
("js-file-1p-20k-4k-r3", "file r=3 1p 4 KiB"),
("js-mem-1p-20k-128-r1", "memory r=1 1p 128 B"),
("js-mem-4p-50k-128-r1", "memory r=1 4p 128 B"),
("js-mem-1p-20k-128-r3", "memory r=3 1p 128 B"),
("js-mem-4p-50k-128-r3", "memory r=3 4p 128 B"),
("js-mem-4p-20k-1k-r3", "memory r=3 4p 1 KiB"),
]
lines = [
row("Run", "What", "Pub msgs/s", "Pub MB/s"),
row("---", "---", "---", "---"),
]
for k, lab in runs:
p = t.get(k)
if not p:
continue
lines.append(row(f"`{k}`", lab, fmt_int(p.get("pub_msgs")), p.get("pub_mb") or ""))
return "\n".join(lines)
hist_lines = [
row("Study", "Env", "Core 1p pub", "JS file r=3 1p", "JS mem r=3 4p", "Ping p99"),
row("---", "---", "---", "---", "---", "---"),
]
labels_env = {
"20260912T045131Z": "1c/1G ZFS (off-box orch.)",
"20260912T051237Z": "1c/1G ZFS (NS1 orch.)",
"20260912T053120Z": "8c/16G tmpfs + mem extra",
}
for d in hist + [latest]:
env = labels_env.get(d["stamp"], f"8c/16G ZFS exhaustive `{d['stamp']}`")
hist_lines.append(
row(
f"`{d['stamp']}`",
env,
fmt_int(pub(d, "core-1p1s-50k-128")),
fmt_int(pub(d, "js-1p-20k-128-r3")),
fmt_int(pub(d, "js-mem-4p-50k-128-r3")),
latp(d, "lat-ping-1k-128"),
)
)
r1 = int(pub(latest, "js-file-1p-20k-128-r1") or 0)
r3 = int(pub(latest, "js-1p-20k-128-r3") or 0)
mem1 = int(pub(latest, "js-mem-1p-20k-128-r1") or 0)
mem3 = int(pub(latest, "js-mem-1p-20k-128-r3") or 0)
replica_cost = f"{r1/r3:.2f}×" if r3 else ""
mem_gain = f"{mem1/r3:.2f}×" if r3 and mem1 else ""
mqtt_rate = mqtt.get("pubs_per_sec", "")
udp_p99 = udp.get("p99", "")
return f"""**Progress report — optimal configuration study** · `{latest['stamp']}` (UTC) · all code on **NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG** (`70.88.205.138`)
This document folds every ladder we have run (1-core ZFS, NS1-orchestrated, tmpfs maximize, and this exhaustive 8c/16G **ZFS** factorial) plus UDP / MQTT / reconnect probes. It recommends a lab config and a **three-box HP DL360 Gen10** projection. veth/10G was not changed.
---
## 1. Verdict (read this first)
**Keep NATS + JetStream.** Do not replace the fabric with MQTT, UDP, or a custom persistent-socket protocol for Verae jobs/events/archive. Those are either slower, less durable, or already what NATS is.
**Lab (NS1, one host, three LXC) optimal now**
| Stream | Storage | Replicas | Why |
|--------|---------|----------|-----|
| `ZAPIER_JOBS`, `ZAPIER_WEBHOOKS`, `VERAE_ARCHIVE` | **file** (ZFS) | **3** | Survive a nats LXC death; archive must persist |
| `ZAPIER_EVENTS` | **memory** | **3** | Waiters are latency-sensitive; events rebuild from job status |
| `ZAPIER_USAGE` | file | 3 | Telemetry, limits + max-age |
Keep **8 cores / 16 GiB / `max_mem: 8G`** on 510513 (already live). Do **not** leave JetStream on tmpfs. Do **not** drop product streams to r=1. Reuse **one NATS connection per process** (already true in middleware); never connect-per-message.
**Metal (3× DL360 Gen10) optimal later**
Same stream table. File store on **local NVMe/M.2**, not a shared SAN. Cluster + client on **10GbE** (or 25GbE if you already have it). Dual Gold Xeon is surplus CPU for this workload; 816 cores dedicated to `nats-server` is enough. Expected JS file r=3: **~4080k** 128 B pubs/s (about **36×** this labs 8c ZFS 1p, **24×** tmpfs 1p) bounded by **10GbE replica RTT**, not by Xeon clocks. Core NATS will sit in the **13M msgs/s** band until the NIC saturates (~9 Gbit/s 89M × 128 B theoretical; CPU and client will hit first).
---
## 2. What we actually ran (this exhaustive pass)
Live cluster during this run: LXC 510513 **8 cores / 16 GiB**, JetStream **on ZFS** (tmpfs from the maximize study was already unmounted). Extra factorial: file/memory × replicas 1/3, 4 KiB file r=3, reconnect-per-message ping, UDP echo 510511, MQTT QoS0 against nats-a `:1883`. Product streams were not the bench target.
### 2.1 Cross-study history
{chr(10).join(hist_lines)}
![JS 1p file r=3 history]({charts_rel}/history-js1p.png)
### 2.2 This run — JetStream factorial
{js_table()}
Replica **1 vs 3** on this stand (file 1p 128 B): r=1 is {fmt_int(str(r1) if r1 else None)} vs r=3 {fmt_int(str(r3) if r3 else None)} ({replica_cost} if r=3 is the slower one). Memory r=1 1p {fmt_int(str(mem1) if mem1 else None)} vs memory r=3 {fmt_int(str(mem3) if mem3 else None)}.
![Replica cost]({charts_rel}/replicas.png)
### 2.3 Delay, reconnect tax, UDP, MQTT
| Probe | Result | Meaning |
|-------|--------|---------|
| NATS ping (persistent sockets) p50 / p99 | {ping.get('p50','')} / {ping.get('p99','')} | Quiet hop with a long-lived TCP conn |
| NATS **reconnect-per-message** p50 / p99 | {recon.get('p50','')} / {recon.get('p99','')} | TCP+NATS handshake on every pub this is the tax to avoid |
| UDP echo 510511 p99 | {udp_p99} | Raw datagram ceiling on the same veth (no NATS) |
| MQTT QoS0 5k×128 B | {mqtt_rate} pubs/s | nats-server MQTT gateway on `:1883` |
Core 1p1s 128 B this run: {fmt_int(pub(latest, 'core-1p1s-50k-128'))} pub msgs/s. Flood delay is still backlog/consume_rate, not RTT.
---
## 3. Alternative transports (why we are not switching the fabric)
NATS already **is** persistent TCP sockets with a tiny binary protocol, automatic reconnect, and optional JetStream durability. Reduce connection overhead is a **client** discipline: hold the connection. The reconnect probe exists to prove that opening a socket per job would dominate ping RTT.
| Idea | Fit for Verae jobs/events/archive | Throughput vs NATS core | Durability |
|------|-----------------------------------|-------------------------|------------|
| **NATS core pub/sub** | Fan-out, request-reply (`verae.billing.*`) | Highest we measured (~0.52M msgs/s) | None |
| **NATS JetStream file r=3** | Jobs, webhooks, archive | ~823k on this lab; see metal projection | Disk + 1-node loss |
| **NATS JetStream memory r=3** | Events mailbox | ~2236k on this lab | RAM + 1-node loss; **empty on full restart** |
| **MQTT** (NATS gateway or Mosquitto) | IoT endpoints that already speak MQTT | This probe: {mqtt_rate} pubs/s QoS0 typically **well below** NATS core; QoS1 JetStream-ish with more chatter | QoS1/2 session state; not our WORM model |
| **UDP** | Telemetry that may drop | RTT {udp_p99} p99 fastest hop, **no** reliability, no cluster, no auth | None |
| **Custom persistent sockets / HTTP long-poll** | Worse NATS | You would re-implement reconnect, flow control, and fan-out | DIY |
| **WebSocket** | Browsers only | Extra framing; NATS already has WS for UIs, not for middleware | Same as core/JS behind it |
| **QUIC / WebTransport** | Lossy WAN / browsers | NATS QUIC is not the lab path; 10GbE LAN does not need it | Same |
| **Kafka / Redis streams** | Heavy log replay | Higher ops cost; not on `vmbr1` today | Yes, heavier |
**MQTT:** NATS documents MQTT as an *enabling* gateway for existing IoT, and prefers NATS end-to-end for greenfield. Zapier cloud never talks NATS or MQTT; it talks HTTPS. Putting MQTT in the middle of timestamp jobs adds protocol translation and QoS timers without helping `jobId events`. Use MQTT only if a device already cannot speak NATS.
**UDP:** Fine as a *measurement* of veth RTT. Unusable as the job fabric (no ack, no replica, no flow control). NATS ping is already within a small multiple of UDP on this bridge.
**Persistence sockets:** Middleware and keep already keep `NATS_URL` connections open. Optimal: one connection (or a small pool) per process, `max_reconnect`, jitter, no `connect()` in the per-job path. The reconnect ladder is the anti-pattern.
---
## 4. Optimal configurations
### 4.1 NS1 lab (now)
1. **Leave 8 cores / 16 GiB** on nats-a/b/c and the worker. Host has 40 cores / 377 GiB; this is cheap.
2. **`max_mem: 8G`** stays. Required for memory streams.
3. **File r=3 on ZFS** for jobs/webhooks/archive. tmpfs doubled JS 1p (7.4k17k) but **loses the stream on reboot** unacceptable for archive.
4. **Memory r=3 for `ZAPIER_EVENTS`** if we accept all three nats CTs reboot in-flight waiters fall back to HTTP poll. That matches the designed wait path (`GET /api/status/{{jobId}}`).
5. **r=1 only for throwaway benches**, never product streams. Replica=3 is the point of three guests.
6. **veth on vmbr1, no fake 10G NICs.** Already 10000Mb/s; JS does not fill it.
7. **Pin cpusets** later if keep/fleet steal; not required to beat these numbers.
8. Clients: persistent NATS connections; pull consumers with bounded `max_ack_pending` for webhooks.
### 4.2 Three HP DL360 Gen10 (projection — not measured)
Assumed bill of materials (state it in the buy):
| Piece | Assumption |
|-------|------------|
| Chassis | 3× DL360 Gen10 1U |
| CPU | Dual 2nd-gen Xeon **Gold** (e.g. 6226R 16c or 6248 20c **3240 cores/box**) |
| Memory | DDR4-2933, **192384 GiB**/box (612×32 GiB); NATS will not use most of it |
| Storage | **NVMe M.2 or U.2** for `/var/lib/nats/jetstream` (XFS or ext4, **not** shared ZFS over the network). RAID1 of two NVMe if you want disk HA *inside* a box |
| Network | **10GbE** (FlexibleLOM or PCIe); dedicated VLAN for `:4222`+`:6222`. Do not share with public `vmbr0` traffic |
| OS | Debian/Ubuntu bare metal, `nats-server` systemd, same `nats.conf` as lab (bind private IP only) |
**What changes vs NS1 LXC**
| Factor | NS1 today | 3× DL360 | Effect on JS file r=3 |
|--------|-----------|----------|------------------------|
| Failure domain | 1 Proxmox host | 3 chassis, 3 NVMe, 3 NICs | r=3 **means** something |
| Disk | Shared ZFS SSD2 | Local NVMe fsync ~50150 µs | Big win vs ZFS; similar to tmpfs for sequential 128 B |
| Replica path | veth/bridge (~µstens of µs) | 10GbE RTT typically **50200 µs** | **Slower than same-host tmpfs**, faster than a bad SAN |
| CPU | 8 of 40 shared | 3240 dedicated Gold cores | Headroom for many clients, not 10× JS |
| NIC | software 10G veth, already ~5 Gbit/s core | real 10GbE ~9 Gbit/s TCP | Core NATS can grow; JS r=3 stays replica-bound |
**Projected bands** (128 B, 3-node cluster, dedicated 10GbE, local NVMe, 8+ cores pinned to nats-server):
| Workload | NS1 measured (best) | DL360 projection | Confidence |
|----------|---------------------|------------------|------------|
| Core pub/sub 1p | 0.50.8M | **0.82M** | Medium NIC + syscall, plenty of CPU |
| Core 4p4s 1 KiB | ~0.60.7M (~0.6 GB/s) | **~1M msgs/s / ~1 GB/s** approaching 10GbE | Medium |
| JS file r=1 | this run r=1 | **80200k** pubs/s | Medium NVMe + no replica wait |
| JS file r=3 | 723k (ZFS/tmpfs) | **4080k** pubs/s | Medium-low replica RTT dominates; 3 NVMe still help vs shared ZFS |
| JS memory r=3 | 2236k | **50100k** | Medium-low RAM + 10GbE ack |
| Ping p99 | 0.71.4 ms | **0.20.6 ms** | Medium real NIC but no Proxmox tax |
These are **not** DL360 measurements. Scale from: (a) our replica-1 vs replica-3 ratio once this runs r=1 numbers exist, (b) tmpfs vs ZFS ratio (2.35× on 1p), (c) Synadia/nats bench async file r=1 ~100400k on NVMe loopback, derated for 10GbE RTT.
**Buy notes:** M.2 via Dual uFF / enablement kit; put JetStream on NVMe **directly**, not behind a RAID controller write-through unless you measure. 1GbE onboard is a trap use 10GbE for `:6222`. Dual Gold is for isolation (nats vs worm/tree vs OS), not because JS needs 56 cores.
---
## 5. What we are not doing
- MQTT as the Zapier or middleware transport.
- UDP for jobs.
- Emulated 10G fiber NICs on LXC.
- tmpfs as the production store.
- r=1 for product streams.
- Connect-per-job.
Re-run exhaustive: `bash scripts/exhaustive-ns1-study.sh` on NS1.
"""
def render(md_path: Path, html_path: Path, pdf_path: Path) -> None:
css = Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "docs-print.css"
header = html_path.with_suffix(".hdr.html")
banner = html_path.with_suffix(".ban.html")
header.write_text(f"<style>{css.read_text() if css.exists() else ''}</style>\n", encoding="utf-8")
banner.write_text(
'<div class="doc-banner">'
'<nav class="site"><a href="/">zapier.georgelambert.org</a></nav>'
'<div class="kicker">Verae Time × Zapier · progress report</div>'
"<h1>NATS optimal configuration study</h1>"
'<div class="source-path">packages/zapier-decisions/reports/optimal-config/REPORT.md</div>'
"</div>\n",
encoding="utf-8",
)
r = subprocess.run(
[
"pandoc",
str(md_path),
"-o",
str(html_path),
"--standalone",
f"--resource-path={md_path.parent}",
"--highlight-style=breezedark",
"--metadata=title=NATS optimal configuration study",
f"--include-in-header={header}",
f"--include-before-body={banner}",
],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
)
header.unlink(missing_ok=True)
banner.unlink(missing_ok=True)
if r.returncode != 0:
raise SystemExit(f"pandoc failed: {r.stderr[-600:]}")
w = subprocess.run(["weasyprint", str(html_path), str(pdf_path)], capture_output=True, text=True)
if w.returncode != 0:
raise SystemExit(f"weasyprint failed: {w.stderr[-600:]}")
def main() -> int:
latest = Path(sys.argv[1])
hist_dirs = [Path(p) for p in sys.argv[2:] if p and Path(p).is_dir()]
data_latest = load_folder(latest)
hist = [load_folder(p) for p in hist_dirs]
charts_dir = latest / "charts-optimal"
charts(data_latest, hist + [data_latest], charts_dir)
md = write_md(data_latest, hist, "charts-optimal")
md_path = latest / "optimal-config.md"
md_path.write_text(md, encoding="utf-8")
html_path = latest / "optimal-config.html"
pdf_path = latest / "optimal-config.pdf"
render(md_path, html_path, pdf_path)
print(f"wrote {md_path}")
print(f"wrote {html_path}", file=sys.stderr)
print(f"wrote {pdf_path}", file=sys.stderr)
return 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
raise SystemExit(main())

69
scripts/create-cluster.sh Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Create three distinct Proxmox LXC guests and start a JetStream cluster on vmbr1.
# Does not touch host loopback NATS (127.0.0.1:4222) or vmbr0.
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/cluster.env"
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/scripts/lib-ct.sh"
ct_require_proxmox
mapfile -t rows < <(printf '%s\n' "$NODES" | awk 'NF==3 {print}')
[[ ${#rows[@]} -eq 3 ]] || { echo "need exactly 3 nodes in cluster.env" >&2; exit 1; }
declare -a VMIDS NAMES IPS
for row in "${rows[@]}"; do
# shellcheck disable=SC2086
set -- $row
VMIDS+=("$1"); NAMES+=("$2"); IPS+=("$3")
done
i=0
for i in 0 1 2; do
ct_ensure "${VMIDS[$i]}" "${NAMES[$i]}" "${IPS[$i]}"
ct_bootstrap_user "${VMIDS[$i]}"
done
# Install nats-server + conf + systemd on each guest
for i in 0 1 2; do
routes=""
for j in 0 1 2; do
[[ $i -eq $j ]] && continue
routes="${routes} nats-route://${IPS[$j]}:6222"$'\n'
done
tmpconf="$(mktemp)"
NAME="${NAMES[$i]}" IP="${IPS[$i]}" CLUSTER="$CLUSTER_NAME" ROUTES="$routes" \
python3 - "$ROOT/conf/nats.conf.tmpl" "$tmpconf" <<'PY'
import os, pathlib, sys
t = pathlib.Path(sys.argv[1]).read_text()
out = t.replace("{{NAME}}", os.environ["NAME"]).replace("{{IP}}", os.environ["IP"]).replace("{{CLUSTER}}", os.environ["CLUSTER"]).replace("{{ROUTES}}", os.environ["ROUTES"])
pathlib.Path(sys.argv[2]).write_text(out)
PY
sudo pct exec "${VMIDS[$i]}" -- bash -c 'cat > /tmp/nats.conf' < "$tmpconf"
sudo pct exec "${VMIDS[$i]}" -- bash -c 'cat > /tmp/nats-server.service' < "$ROOT/systemd/nats-server.service"
rm -f "$tmpconf"
sudo pct exec "${VMIDS[$i]}" -- bash -lc "
set -e
export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
id nats >/dev/null 2>&1 || useradd -r -s /usr/sbin/nologin nats
install -d -m 755 -o nats -g nats /var/lib/nats/jetstream /etc/nats
mv /tmp/nats.conf /etc/nats/nats.conf
chown root:root /etc/nats/nats.conf
chmod 644 /etc/nats/nats.conf
if [[ ! -x /usr/local/bin/nats-server ]]; then
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nats-io/nats-server/releases/download/v${NATS_VER}/nats-server-v${NATS_VER}-linux-amd64.tar.gz -o /tmp/nats.tgz
tar -xzf /tmp/nats.tgz -C /tmp
install -m 0755 /tmp/nats-server-v${NATS_VER}-linux-amd64/nats-server /usr/local/bin/nats-server
rm -rf /tmp/nats.tgz /tmp/nats-server-v${NATS_VER}-linux-amd64
fi
install -m 644 /tmp/nats-server.service /etc/systemd/system/nats-server.service
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable --now nats-server
"
echo "nats-server ${NAMES[$i]} ${IPS[$i]}:4222 cluster ${IPS[$i]}:6222"
done
echo "cluster client URL: nats://${IPS[0]}:4222,nats://${IPS[1]}:4222,nats://${IPS[2]}:4222"
echo "lab loopback NATS on the host is unchanged (127.0.0.1:4222)"
echo "next: bash $ROOT/scripts/test.sh"

10
scripts/cutover-ns1.sh Executable file
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@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Point NS1 test modules at the 3-node vmbr1 cluster. Does not change MOCK_VERAE or Zapier.
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/client.env"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:$PATH"
bash "$ROOT/scripts/ensure-streams.sh"
echo "NATS_URL=$NATS_URL"
echo "streams ensured. restart keep + fleet on the host after copying overlay/service JSON."

122
scripts/docs-print.css Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
/* Colored print + screen stylesheet for zapier.georgelambert.org */
:root {
--ink: #171a26;
--muted: #5b6178;
--line: #d9dce8;
--bg: #f4f5fb;
--paper: #ffffff;
--accent: #4f46e5;
--accent-deep: #312e81;
--accent-soft: #eef0fe;
--ok: #047857;
--warn: #8a5a00;
--code-bg: #1b1f33;
--code-fg: #e8ecff;
}
html { background: var(--bg); }
body {
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 1.5rem 1.25rem 3rem;
max-width: 48rem;
font: 15px/1.55 -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Georgia, serif;
color: var(--ink);
background: var(--paper);
}
.doc-banner {
background: linear-gradient(160deg, #312e81 0%, #4f46e5 60%, #7c74f0 100%);
color: #eef0fe;
margin: -1.5rem -1.25rem 1.5rem;
padding: 1.1rem 1.25rem 1rem;
}
.doc-banner a { color: #fff; }
.doc-banner .kicker {
letter-spacing: 0.12em;
text-transform: uppercase;
font: 700 10px system-ui, sans-serif;
opacity: 0.8;
}
.doc-banner h1 { margin: 0.25rem 0 0; font-size: 1.45rem; color: #fff; }
h1, h2, h3, h4 { color: var(--accent-deep); page-break-after: avoid; }
h1 { font-size: 1.7rem; }
h2 {
font-size: 1.2rem;
border-bottom: 2px solid var(--accent);
padding-bottom: 0.2rem;
margin-top: 1.6rem;
}
h3 { font-size: 1.05rem; color: var(--accent); }
a { color: var(--accent); }
p, li { orphans: 3; widows: 3; }
code {
font-family: ui-monospace, Menlo, Consolas, monospace;
font-size: 0.86em;
background: var(--accent-soft);
color: var(--accent-deep);
padding: 0.08em 0.28em;
border-radius: 4px;
}
pre, div.sourceCode, div.sourceCode pre {
background: var(--code-bg) !important;
color: var(--code-fg) !important;
padding: 0.85rem 1rem;
border-radius: 10px;
overflow: auto;
font-size: 0.78rem;
line-height: 1.4;
page-break-inside: avoid;
}
pre code { background: transparent; color: inherit; padding: 0; }
#title-block-header, header#title-block-header, h1.title { display: none; }
.doc-banner + h1 { display: none; }
table {
border-collapse: collapse;
width: 100%;
margin: 0.8rem 0 1.2rem;
font-size: 0.9rem;
page-break-inside: avoid;
}
th, td { border: 1px solid var(--line); padding: 0.38rem 0.55rem; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; }
th {
background: var(--accent);
color: #fff;
font: 650 12px system-ui, sans-serif;
}
tr:nth-child(even) td { background: var(--accent-soft); }
blockquote {
margin: 1rem 0;
padding: 0.4rem 0.9rem;
border-left: 4px solid var(--accent);
background: var(--accent-soft);
color: var(--accent-deep);
}
img { max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 8px; page-break-inside: avoid; }
hr { border: 0; border-top: 1px solid var(--line); }
ul, ol { padding-left: 1.25rem; }
nav.site { font: 13px system-ui, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.4rem; }
.source-path { font: 11px ui-monospace, Menlo, monospace; color: var(--muted); }
@page {
size: letter;
margin: 0.65in 0.7in 0.8in 0.7in;
@top-left {
content: "Verae Time × Zapier";
font: 700 8pt system-ui, sans-serif;
color: #4f46e5;
}
@top-right {
content: "zapier.georgelambert.org";
font: 8pt system-ui, sans-serif;
color: #6b7186;
}
@bottom-center {
content: counter(page) " / " counter(pages);
font: 8pt system-ui, sans-serif;
color: #6b7186;
}
}
@media print {
html, body { background: #fff; max-width: none; padding: 0; }
.doc-banner { margin: 0 0 1rem; border-radius: 8px; -webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact; }
a { text-decoration: none; }
th, tr:nth-child(even) td, pre, blockquote, code { -webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact; }
}

34
scripts/ensure-streams.sh Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Create product JetStream streams with replicas=3 on the Proxmox cluster.
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/client.env"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
VMID="${1:-511}"
sudo pct exec "$VMID" -- bash -lc "
set -e
export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
export NATS_URL=nats://10.10.10.21:4222
if [[ ! -x /usr/local/bin/nats ]]; then
apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unzip >/dev/null
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nats-io/natscli/releases/download/v0.1.6/nats-0.1.6-linux-amd64.zip -o /tmp/natscli.zip
rm -rf /tmp/natscli && mkdir -p /tmp/natscli
unzip -o /tmp/natscli.zip -d /tmp/natscli >/dev/null
BIN=\$(find /tmp/natscli -type f -name nats | head -1)
install -m 0755 \"\$BIN\" /usr/local/bin/nats
fi
add() {
local name=\$1 subj=\$2
nats stream info \"\$name\" >/dev/null 2>&1 && return 0
nats stream add \"\$name\" --subjects=\"\$subj\" --replicas=3 --storage=file --retention=limits --discard=old --max-msgs=-1 --max-bytes=-1 --max-age=24h --dupe-window=2m --defaults
}
add ZAPIER_JOBS 'verae.zapier.jobs.watch'
add ZAPIER_EVENTS 'verae.zapier.jobs.events'
add ZAPIER_WEBHOOKS 'verae.zapier.webhooks.deliver'
add ZAPIER_USAGE 'verae.zapier.usage'
add VERAE_ARCHIVE 'verae.archive.>'
nats stream ls
"
echo "streams ready on cluster (replicas=3)"

84
scripts/exhaustive-ns1-study.sh Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Exhaustive NS1 ladder on the *current* 8c/16G cluster with JetStream on ZFS.
# Adds r=1 vs r=3, file vs memory, reconnect tax, UDP echo, MQTT gateway probe.
# Does not tmpfs (product streams stay). Must run on NS1.
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
HOST="$(hostname -f 2>/dev/null || hostname)"
case "$HOST" in
NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG|NS1|ns1.georgelambert.org|ns1) ;;
*) echo "refusing: exhaustive-ns1-study.sh must run on NS1, got '$HOST'" >&2; exit 1 ;;
esac
export EXHAUSTIVE=1
export JS_EXTRA_MEMORY=1
export COMPARE_DIR="${COMPARE_DIR:-$ROOT/results/20260912T051237Z}"
STAMP="$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
export BENCH_OUT="$ROOT/results/$STAMP"
mkdir -p "$BENCH_OUT"
# MQTT gateway on nats-a only (vmbr1). Restored after.
MQTT_CONF=/etc/nats/nats.conf
enable_mqtt() {
sudo pct exec 511 -- bash -lc '
set -e
f=/etc/nats/nats.conf
grep -q "^mqtt {" "$f" && exit 0
cat >> "$f" <<EOF
mqtt {
host: 10.10.10.21
port: 1883
}
EOF
systemctl kill -s HUP nats-server || systemctl restart nats-server
'
sleep 2
}
disable_mqtt() {
sudo pct exec 511 -- bash -lc '
f=/etc/nats/nats.conf
python3 - "$f" <<'"'"'PY'"'"'
from pathlib import Path
import re, sys
p = Path(sys.argv[1])
t = re.sub(r"\nmqtt \{[^}]*\}\n", "\n", p.read_text(), flags=re.S)
p.write_text(t)
PY
systemctl kill -s HUP nats-server || true
' || true
}
enable_mqtt
trap disable_mqtt EXIT
bash "$ROOT/scripts/study-on-ns1.sh"
OUT="$BENCH_OUT"
echo "exhaustive extras into $OUT"
# UDP echo: server in 511, client in 510
sudo pct exec 511 -- bash -lc 'pkill -f "udp-probe.mjs server" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true'
sudo pct exec 511 -- bash -c 'cat > /tmp/udp-probe.mjs' < "$ROOT/scripts/udp-probe.mjs"
sudo pct exec 510 -- bash -c 'cat > /tmp/nats-lat/udp-probe.mjs' < "$ROOT/scripts/udp-probe.mjs"
sudo pct exec 511 -- bash -lc 'setsid node /tmp/udp-probe.mjs server 9999 >/tmp/udp-echo.log 2>&1 < /dev/null &'
sleep 1
echo "=== udp-ping-1k-128 ===" | tee "$OUT/udp-ping-1k-128.txt"
sudo pct exec 510 -- bash -lc 'node /tmp/nats-lat/udp-probe.mjs client 10.10.10.21 1000 9999 128' | tee -a "$OUT/udp-ping-1k-128.txt"
sudo pct exec 511 -- bash -lc 'pkill -f "udp-probe.mjs server" || true'
# MQTT QoS0
sudo pct exec 510 -- bash -lc '
set -e
cd /tmp/nats-lat
if [[ ! -d node_modules/mqtt ]]; then npm install --no-audit --no-fund mqtt@10 >/dev/null; fi
'
sudo pct exec 510 -- bash -c 'cat > /tmp/nats-lat/mqtt-probe.mjs' < "$ROOT/scripts/mqtt-probe.mjs"
echo "=== mqtt-qos0-5k-128 ===" | tee "$OUT/mqtt-qos0-5k-128.txt"
sudo pct exec 510 -- bash -lc 'cd /tmp/nats-lat && node mqtt-probe.mjs mqtt://10.10.10.21:1883 5000 128' | tee -a "$OUT/mqtt-qos0-5k-128.txt" || echo '{"error":"mqtt probe failed"}' | tee -a "$OUT/mqtt-qos0-5k-128.txt"
python3 "$ROOT/scripts/build-optimal-report.py" "$OUT" \
"$ROOT/results/20260912T045131Z" \
"$ROOT/results/20260912T051237Z" \
"$ROOT/results/20260912T053120Z"
echo "exhaustive complete $OUT"

132
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#!/usr/bin/env node
/**
* Pubsub round trip through the cluster (two connections).
* Usage: NATS_URL=... node latency.mjs [count] [payloadBytes] [publishers] [ping|flood|reconnect]
* ping = sequential publish-wait on persistent sockets (one-message RTT)
* flood = publish the batch then drain (queueing under burst)
* reconnect = connect, one publish, wait, close measures handshake tax
*/
import { connect, headers } from "nats";
const url = process.env.NATS_URL || "nats://10.10.10.21:4222";
const count = Number(process.argv[2] || 5000);
const size = Number(process.argv[3] || 128);
const pubs = Number(process.argv[4] || 1);
const mode = process.argv[5] || "flood";
const servers = url.split(",").map((s) => s.trim());
const subject = `bench.lat.${process.pid}`;
const payload = new Uint8Array(size);
function pct(sorted, p) {
if (!sorted.length) return 0;
const i = Math.min(sorted.length - 1, Math.floor((p / 100) * sorted.length));
return sorted[i];
}
const samples = [];
if (mode === "reconnect") {
const subNc = await connect({ servers, name: "lat-sub" });
let resolveOne = null;
const sub = subNc.subscribe(subject, { max: count });
const consume = (async () => {
for await (const m of sub) {
const sent = Number(m.headers?.get("t") || 0);
samples.push(Number(process.hrtime.bigint() / 1000n) - sent);
resolveOne?.();
}
})();
await subNc.flush();
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
const got = new Promise((r) => {
resolveOne = r;
});
const pubNc = await connect({ servers, name: `lat-re-${i}` });
const h = headers();
h.set("t", String(process.hrtime.bigint() / 1000n));
pubNc.publish(subject, payload, { headers: h });
await pubNc.flush();
await got;
await pubNc.close();
}
await consume;
await subNc.close();
} else if (mode === "ping") {
const subNc = await connect({ servers, name: "lat-sub" });
const pubNc = await connect({ servers, name: "lat-pub" });
let resolveOne = null;
const sub = subNc.subscribe(subject, { max: count });
const consume = (async () => {
for await (const m of sub) {
const sent = Number(m.headers?.get("t") || 0);
samples.push(Number(process.hrtime.bigint() / 1000n) - sent);
resolveOne?.();
}
})();
await subNc.flush();
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
const got = new Promise((r) => {
resolveOne = r;
});
const h = headers();
h.set("t", String(process.hrtime.bigint() / 1000n));
pubNc.publish(subject, payload, { headers: h });
await got;
}
await consume;
await pubNc.close();
await subNc.close();
} else {
const subNc = await connect({ servers, name: "lat-sub" });
const sub = subNc.subscribe(subject, { max: count });
const done = (async () => {
for await (const m of sub) {
const sent = Number(m.headers?.get("t") || 0);
if (sent) samples.push(Number(process.hrtime.bigint() / 1000n) - sent);
}
})();
await subNc.flush();
const per = Math.ceil(count / pubs);
const publishers = [];
for (let p = 0; p < pubs; p++) {
publishers.push(
(async () => {
const nc = await connect({ servers, name: `lat-pub-${p}` });
const n = p === pubs - 1 ? count - per * (pubs - 1) : per;
for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) {
const h = headers();
h.set("t", String(process.hrtime.bigint() / 1000n));
nc.publish(subject, payload, { headers: h });
}
await nc.flush();
await nc.close();
})(),
);
}
await Promise.all(publishers);
await done;
await subNc.close();
}
samples.sort((a, b) => a - b);
const sum = samples.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0);
const us = (n) => `${(n / 1000).toFixed(3)}ms`;
console.log(
JSON.stringify({
count: samples.length,
pubs,
size,
mode,
min_us: samples[0],
avg_us: Math.round(sum / samples.length),
p50_us: pct(samples, 50),
p90_us: pct(samples, 90),
p99_us: pct(samples, 99),
max_us: samples[samples.length - 1],
min: us(samples[0]),
avg: us(sum / samples.length),
p50: us(pct(samples, 50)),
p90: us(pct(samples, 90)),
p99: us(pct(samples, 99)),
max: us(samples[samples.length - 1]),
}),
);

62
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# shellcheck shell=bash
# Shared LXC bootstrap for NS1 Proxmox. Does not generate SSH keys if one exists.
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:$PATH"
ct_require_proxmox() {
if [[ ! -d /etc/pve/nodes ]]; then
echo "not a Proxmox host" >&2
return 1
fi
command -v pct >/dev/null || { echo "pct missing" >&2; return 1; }
}
ct_ensure() {
local vmid="$1" hostname="$2" ip="$3"
if [[ ! -f "$TEMPLATE" ]]; then
echo "missing template $TEMPLATE" >&2
return 1
fi
if ! sudo pct status "$vmid" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
echo "pct create $vmid $hostname $ip/24"
sudo pct create "$vmid" "$TEMPLATE" \
--hostname "$hostname" \
--memory "$MEMORY" --cores "$CORES" --swap 256 \
--net0 "name=eth0,bridge=${BRIDGE},ip=${ip}/24,gw=${GW},type=veth" \
--rootfs "${STORAGE}:${DISK}" \
--unprivileged 1 --onboot 1 --nameserver "$DNS" \
--features nesting=1 \
--ostype ubuntu
else
echo "CT $vmid already exists"
fi
sudo pct start "$vmid" 2>/dev/null || true
local i
for i in $(seq 1 40); do
sudo pct exec "$vmid" -- true 2>/dev/null && return 0
sleep 2
done
echo "CT $vmid did not start" >&2
return 1
}
ct_bootstrap_user() {
local vmid="$1"
local pub=""
[[ -f "$HOME/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub" ]] && pub="$(cat "$HOME/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub")"
[[ -z "$pub" && -f "$HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys" ]] && pub="$(head -1 "$HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys")"
[[ -n "$pub" ]] || { echo "no ssh public key" >&2; return 1; }
sudo pct exec "$vmid" -- bash -lc "
set -e
export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
apt-get update -qq
apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends openssh-server sudo curl ca-certificates xz-utils tar
id $USER_NAME >/dev/null 2>&1 || useradd -m -s /bin/bash $USER_NAME
echo '$USER_NAME ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL' >/etc/sudoers.d/90-$USER_NAME
chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/90-$USER_NAME
install -d -m 700 -o $USER_NAME -g $USER_NAME /home/$USER_NAME/.ssh
grep -qxF '$pub' /home/$USER_NAME/.ssh/authorized_keys 2>/dev/null || echo '$pub' >>/home/$USER_NAME/.ssh/authorized_keys
chown $USER_NAME:$USER_NAME /home/$USER_NAME/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 600 /home/$USER_NAME/.ssh/authorized_keys
systemctl enable --now ssh
"
}

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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Maximize nats LXC resources + RAM-disk JetStream, run the NS1 study, then
# put product streams back on ZFS. Cores/RAM/max_mem stay raised.
# Must run on NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG.
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
HOST="$(hostname -f 2>/dev/null || hostname)"
case "$HOST" in
NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG|NS1|ns1.georgelambert.org|ns1) ;;
*)
echo "refusing: maximize-ns1-study.sh must run on NS1, got '$HOST'" >&2
exit 1
;;
esac
CORES="${CORES:-8}"
MEMORY="${MEMORY:-16384}"
TMPFS_SIZE="${TMPFS_SIZE:-8G}"
NATS_VMS=(511 512 513)
ALL_VMS=(510 511 512 513)
apply_resources() {
local v
for v in "${ALL_VMS[@]}"; do
echo "pct set $v --cores $CORES --memory $MEMORY"
sudo pct set "$v" --cores "$CORES" --memory "$MEMORY"
done
}
patch_max_mem() {
local v
for v in "${NATS_VMS[@]}"; do
sudo pct exec "$v" -- sed -i -E 's/max_mem:[[:space:]]*[0-9]+[MmGg]/max_mem: 8G/' /etc/nats/nats.conf
sudo pct exec "$v" -- grep -n max_mem /etc/nats/nats.conf
done
}
mount_tmpfs() {
local v
for v in "${NATS_VMS[@]}"; do
sudo pct exec "$v" -- bash -lc "
set -e
systemctl stop nats-server
mkdir -p /var/lib/nats/jetstream
if ! mountpoint -q /var/lib/nats/jetstream; then
mount -t tmpfs -o size=${TMPFS_SIZE} nats-js /var/lib/nats/jetstream
fi
chown nats:nats /var/lib/nats/jetstream
chmod 755 /var/lib/nats/jetstream
systemctl start nats-server
mount | grep jetstream
"
done
}
unmount_tmpfs() {
local v
for v in "${NATS_VMS[@]}"; do
sudo pct exec "$v" -- bash -lc '
set -e
systemctl stop nats-server || true
if mountpoint -q /var/lib/nats/jetstream; then
umount /var/lib/nats/jetstream
fi
mkdir -p /var/lib/nats/jetstream
chown nats:nats /var/lib/nats/jetstream
systemctl start nats-server
'
done
}
wait_cluster() {
local n=0
until sudo pct exec 511 -- curl -fsS --max-time 2 http://127.0.0.1:8222/varz >/dev/null 2>&1; do
n=$((n + 1))
[[ $n -lt 30 ]] || { echo "nats-a varz not up" >&2; return 1; }
sleep 1
done
sleep 2
}
restore_durable() {
echo "restoring ZFS JetStream (product streams)"
unmount_tmpfs
wait_cluster
bash "$ROOT/scripts/ensure-streams.sh" || true
}
apply_resources
patch_max_mem
mount_tmpfs
wait_cluster
trap restore_durable EXIT
export JS_EXTRA_MEMORY=1
export COMPARE_DIR="${COMPARE_DIR:-$ROOT/results/20260912T051237Z}"
# recorded in host-before by appending after dump starts — study script reads pct config live
bash "$ROOT/scripts/study-on-ns1.sh"
echo "maximize study finished; trap will restore ZFS jetstream"

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#!/usr/bin/env node
/** MQTT QoS0 publish rate against nats-server MQTT gateway. */
import mqtt from "mqtt";
const url = process.argv[2] || "mqtt://10.10.10.21:1883";
const count = Number(process.argv[3] || 5000);
const size = Number(process.argv[4] || 128);
const payload = Buffer.alloc(size, 9);
const topic = `bench/mqtt/${process.pid}`;
const c = mqtt.connect(url, { reconnectPeriod: 0, connectTimeout: 5000 });
await new Promise((res, rej) => {
c.on("connect", res);
c.on("error", rej);
});
const t0 = process.hrtime.bigint();
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
await new Promise((res, rej) => c.publish(topic, payload, { qos: 0 }, (err) => (err ? rej(err) : res())));
}
const ns = Number(process.hrtime.bigint() - t0);
c.end(true);
const sec = ns / 1e9;
console.log(
JSON.stringify({
mode: "mqtt-qos0",
count,
size,
url,
secs: Number(sec.toFixed(3)),
pubs_per_sec: Math.round(count / sec),
mb_per_sec: Number(((count * size) / sec / 1e6).toFixed(2)),
}),
);

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## 4. Study methodology
### 4.1 Question
On the NS1 test stand, what message **throughput** and **delay** does the three-node `verae` JetStream cluster deliver at several loads, and which part of the stack is the limiter for product traffic (jobs, events, webhooks, archive)?
### 4.2 Hypotheses (stated before the run)
1. **H1 — Core vs JetStream.** Fire-and-forget core NATS is at least an order of magnitude faster than JetStream **file + replicas=3**, because durable publish waits for a majority disk replica.
2. **H2 — JetStream parallelism.** Adding publishers does **not** linearly increase JetStream write rate once the replica log is saturated.
3. **H3 — Quiet delay.** Sequential pub→sub round trip on `vmbr1` is well under 1 ms p99 when the consumer is waiting.
4. **H4 — Burst delay.** If publishers dump a batch before the subscriber drains, observed delay is **queueing time**, roughly linear in backlog, not in cluster hop count.
5. **H5 — Payload.** Moving 128 B → 1 KiB lowers message rate and raises byte rate on core NATS; JetStream in this size band stays replica/fsync bound.
### 4.3 Independent variables (what we changed)
| Factor | Levels |
|--------|--------|
| Transport | Core NATS pub/sub vs JetStream file replicas=3 |
| Publisher count | 1, 2, 4, 8 |
| Subscriber count | 0 (JS publish-only), 1, 2, 4, 8 |
| Message count | 1k, 5k, 10k, 20k, 50k, 100k, 200k (by ladder step) |
| Payload | 128 B, 1024 B |
| Delay mode | **ping** (publish, wait, repeat) vs **flood** (publish all, then drain) |
### 4.4 Dependent variables (what we recorded)
| Metric | Instrument | Unit |
|--------|------------|------|
| Publish rate | `nats bench` 0.1.6 Pub stats | msgs/s, MB/s |
| Subscribe rate | `nats bench` Sub stats | msgs/s, MB/s |
| Aggregate | `nats bench` NATS Pub/Sub stats | msgs/s (fan-out counts both sides) |
| Publisher spread | nats min/avg/max **msgs/s** | not delay |
| One-way-ish RTT | `latency.mjs` header timestamp | min, avg, p50, p90, p99, max |
| Host load | `/proc/loadavg` before and after | load average |
| Broker counters | `http://127.0.0.1:8222/varz` inside each nats LXC | connections, in/out msgs, cpu, mem |
**Important:** nats CLI 0.1.6 min/avg/max are **rate spread across publishers**, not microseconds of delay. Delay is only `latency.mjs`.
### 4.5 Controls and constants
- Cluster name `verae`, three routes, client `:4222`, cluster `:6222`, monitor loopback `:8222`.
- Client URL always the three-node list on `vmbr1` (never host `127.0.0.1:4222`, never `vmbr0`).
- Bench client is LXC **510**, not a nats-* server.
- JetStream bench stream name `benchstream`, **file** storage, **replicas=3**, deleted between JS loads (`nats stream rm --force`) so names do not collide.
- Product streams were **not** the bench target (no load test on `ZAPIER_*` / `VERAE_ARCHIVE`).
- No TLS, no nkeys, no account isolation (isolation is `vmbr1`).
- Same nats CLI version (0.1.6) and `nats@2` Node client as the first ladder.
### 4.6 Procedure
1. Confirm this script is executing on **NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG**. Refuse otherwise.
2. Snapshot host load, memory, LXC configs, and each nats `varz`.
3. From NS1, `pct exec 510` the core ladder (1p1s, 4p4s, 8p8s at 128 B; 4p4s at 1 KiB).
4. Delete `benchstream`; JS ladder (1p, 4p, 4p×1 KiB, 2p2s pull) at replicas=3 file.
5. Copy `latency.mjs` into 510; ping then flood at several batch sizes.
6. Snapshot host/`varz` again.
7. Parse logs on **this host**; draw charts; write HTML and PDF on **this host**.
No publish, subscribe, chart, or PDF process runs on the operator laptop for this study.
### 4.7 Instrumentation path
```text
[NS1 host 70.88.205.138]
study-on-ns1.sh (bash + python3)
|
| sudo pct exec 510
v
[LXC 510 verae-px-worker 10.10.10.20]
nats bench / node latency.mjs
|
| NATS client protocol to
v
[LXC 511/512/513 10.10.10.21-23 :4222]
nats-server -js cluster routes :6222
```
The hypervisor issues the guest commands. The messages themselves never leave `vmbr1`.
### 4.8 Threats to validity
| Threat | Effect on numbers |
|--------|-------------------|
| **One physical host** | Three “replicas” share CPU, memory, and usually the same datastore. This measures process/LXC HA, not disk HA. |
| **Shared load** | NS1 also runs Caddy, Forgejo, keep, fleet, portal, and other CTs. Load average during a run is part of the result, not noise to ignore. |
| **Single bench client** | All publishers live in 510. Per-publisher rate spread is contention in that guest. |
| **Short runs** | Seconds of traffic. No compaction, no multi-hour page-cache eviction, no snapshot during load. |
| **No TLS/nkeys** | Production auth will cost CPU. Do not treat these rates as post-nkeys rates. |
| **Fan-out aggregate** | Core aggregate msgs/s counts pub+sub. Do not compare that column to JetStream unique writes. |
| **Flood ≠ RTT** | Mixing flood averages with ping p99 produces a fake “NATS is slow” story. |
| **Lab only** | Not a Zapier HTTPS bench and not live `api.veraetime.net`. |
### 4.9 Ethics / safety
Bench uses throwaway subjects (`bench.core.*`, `bench.js.*`, `bench.lat.*`) and a throwaway stream. It does not purge product streams. Zapier cloud has no NATS socket.
---
## 5. Suggestions for fine-tuning
These follow from the method and from the first ladder on this stand (JetStream ~16k durable 128 B pubs/s; ping ~0.3 ms; flood hundreds of ms). Apply in order of leverage. Re-run **this NS1 study** after each change so the delta is measured the same way.
### 5.1 Treat JetStream as the product limiter
Product jobs/events/webhooks/archive are durable. Tuning core NATS to 2M msgs/s will not move a timestamp Zap. Put effort into **replica write path** and **consumer lag**, not core fan-out.
### 5.2 Split storage class by stream
| Stream | Suggested store | Why |
|--------|-----------------|-----|
| `ZAPIER_JOBS` | file, r=3 | Work queue; lose-a-job is bad |
| `ZAPIER_EVENTS` | file r=3, or memory r=3 if events are rebuildable from job status | Hot waiters; measure both |
| `ZAPIER_WEBHOOKS` | file, r=3, workqueue | HTTPS to Zapier is the slow consumer |
| `ZAPIER_USAGE` | file, r=3, limits + max-age | Telemetry |
| `VERAE_ARCHIVE` | file, r=3, on the **best disk** | Puts are larger and must survive |
Try `ZAPIER_EVENTS` as memory store in a maintenance window and re-run only the JS + ping/flood steps. If ping stays ~0.3 ms and durable events still ack at a higher rate, keep it; if a CT restart drops in-flight waiters, revert.
### 5.3 Give JetStream real disks
Today r=3 on three LXC guests on **one Proxmox host** is three files, one failure domain.
- Bind-mount a distinct SSD/NVMe (or ZFS dataset with its own vdev) into each nats LXC `store_dir`.
- Set `sync: always` only on archive if you need it; default sync is often enough for jobs and is faster. Measure.
- Do not put JetStream `store_dir` on the same busy rootfs as Forgejo/Caddy if we can avoid it.
- When moving to three metal boxes: same configs, private NIC, one disk (or mirror) **per node**. That is the first change that makes r=3 mean “two boxes can die.”
### 5.4 Isolate the nats CTs from the rest of NS1
Host load on this box is often already several. Pin:
- `nats-a/b/c`: dedicated cores, no steal from keep/fleet Node processes.
- Memory high enough that file-backed streams stay cache-hot for the working set.
- `cpuunits` / cpuset in `pct config` so a Zapier-facing Node GC pause does not stall fsync.
Re-run this study after pinning; H1/H2 should move more than ping.
### 5.5 Consumer and mailbox tuning (delay H4)
Flood delay is backlog / consume_rate. Fine-tune the **waiters**, not the broker RTT.
- `jobs.events` and `webhooks.deliver`: raise `max_ack_pending` so a slow HTTPS hook does not stall the whole consumer; cap it so a poison message cannot unbounded-buffer RAM.
- Pull consumers: larger batch, shorter `expires`, more pullers horizontally (fleet replica floors) instead of one fat subscriber.
- Middleware should **not** flood-publish then wait; it already does per-job publish. Keep that. The flood test is the outage profile when a consumer is stopped.
- Alert on **consumer lag** (pending + ack pending) from JetStream, not on ping RTT.
### 5.6 Publisher-side batching in middleware
A timestamp job is one small JSON. 16k msgs/s is ample. Still:
- Avoid per-byte publishes; one message per job/event.
- Reuse NATS connections (connection churn showed up as publisher spread in the core 4p/8p runs).
- Idempotent `msg id` / duplicate window sized to Verae retry window, not default-only.
### 5.7 nats-server knobs worth measuring (A/B with this script)
| Knob | Why try it |
|------|------------|
| `max_payload` | Keep default unless archive puts grow |
| `write_deadline` | Slow consumer protection for webhooks |
| `max_pending` | Bound memory on a stuck Zapier hook |
| `max_connections` | Fleet workers + keep + middleware |
| JetStream `max_file_store` / `max_memory_store` | Prevent one stream from filling the CT |
| `max_outstanding_catchup` | Replica restart after a nats-c blip |
| GOMAXPROCS = LXC cores | Do not overthread a 2-core CT |
Change **one** knob, re-run `study-on-ns1.sh`, compare JetStream 1p 128 B and ping p99.
### 5.8 Network
- Keep NATS off `vmbr0`. No change.
- When on metal: dedicated NIC or VLAN for cluster `:6222` vs client `:4222` if possible (replication vs client load).
- Check virtio queue counts on the LXC nics if core 1 KiB byte rate plateaus.
### 5.9 Security cost (when nkeys/mTLS flip)
`verae-nats-accounts` is still a sketch. Enabling accounts will add CPU on publish. Budget: re-run this exact study **after** creds are in every `NATS_URL`, and accept a drop on both core and JS. Do not flip without that measurement.
### 5.10 Operational fine-tuning (lag, not peak msgs/s)
1. Scrape `varz` / `jsz` from the host over `vmbr1` (not public). Monitor loopback `:8222` is invisible to Prometheus on NS1 unless we add a host-side proxy on `10.10.10.21:8222` bound only to `vmbr1`.
2. Keep replica floors for webhook-deliver and job-poller — they are the flood defense.
3. Backup/restore drill of JetStream **during idle**, then a short JS 1p run to see catchup cost.
4. A 1530 minute soak (not in this ladder) for page cache and compaction; add that as a third study when disks are dedicated.
### 5.11 What not to tune
- Do not chase core 8p8s aggregate. It is fan-out on a lab bridge.
- Do not treat flood 400 ms as “cluster RTT.” Fix consumers.
- Do not load-test on `ZAPIER_*` streams.
- Do not bind client NATS to `0.0.0.0` on `vmbr0`.
### 5.12 Recommended next experiments (same method, one change each)
1. CPU pin nats-a/b/c → re-run JS 1p + ping.
2. `ZAPIER_EVENTS`-shaped memory stream vs file (throwaway stream, same flags as this JS ladder).
3. Distinct `store_dir` disks per node.
4. nkeys on, same ladder.
5. Three hardware boxes, same `cluster.env` IPs updated.
Each experiment should produce a new `results/<utc>/` on NS1 and a new progress-repo report so we can diff H1H5 instead of arguing from memory.

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scripts/status.sh Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/cluster.env"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:$PATH"
printf '%s\n' "$NODES" | awk 'NF==3 {print}' | while read -r vmid name ip; do
st="$(sudo pct status "$vmid" 2>/dev/null || echo missing)"
js="$(sudo pct exec "$vmid" -- curl -fsS --max-time 2 http://127.0.0.1:8222/varz 2>/dev/null || echo '{}')"
echo "$vmid $name $ip $st"
python3 -c "
import json,sys
try:
d=json.loads(sys.argv[1])
except Exception:
print(' nats down')
raise SystemExit
print(' server_name', d.get('server_name'), 'cluster', (d.get('cluster') or {}).get('name'), 'routes', len((d.get('cluster') or {}).get('urls') or d.get('connect_urls') or []))
print(' jetstream', bool(d.get('jetstream')), 'port', d.get('port'), 'host', d.get('host'))
" "$js" 2>/dev/null || echo " nats down"
done
echo "host loopback still: $(ss -lnt | grep '127.0.0.1:4222' && echo up || echo down)"

97
scripts/study-on-ns1.sh Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Full message-speed study. Must run ON NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG (70.88.205.138).
# Orchestration, nats bench (via pct into LXC 510), charts, HTML, and PDF all
# happen on this host. The laptop is not in the measurement path.
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
HOST="$(hostname -f 2>/dev/null || hostname)"
case "$HOST" in
NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG|NS1|ns1.georgelambert.org|ns1) ;;
*)
echo "refusing: study-on-ns1.sh must run on NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG (70.88.205.138), got '$HOST'" >&2
exit 1
;;
esac
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/client.env"
CLIENT_VMID="${CLIENT_VMID:-510}"
STAMP="$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)"
OUT="${BENCH_OUT:-$ROOT/results/$STAMP}"
mkdir -p "$OUT"
dump_env() {
local tag="$1"
local f="$OUT/host-$tag.txt"
{
echo "execution_host=NS1.GEORGELAMBERT.ORG"
echo "execution_ip=70.88.205.138"
echo "hostname=$(hostname)"
echo "utc=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
echo "whoami=$(whoami)"
echo "pwd=$(pwd)"
echo "uname=$(uname -a)"
echo "nproc=$(nproc)"
echo "loadavg=$(cat /proc/loadavg)"
echo "client_vmid=$CLIENT_VMID"
echo "nats_url=$NATS_URL"
echo "js_extra_memory=${JS_EXTRA_MEMORY:-0}"
echo "compare_dir=${COMPARE_DIR:-}"
echo "--- nats 511 max_mem ---"
sudo pct exec 511 -- grep max_mem /etc/nats/nats.conf || true
echo "--- nats 511 jetstream mount ---"
sudo pct exec 511 -- mount | grep jetstream || echo "jetstream on rootfs"
echo "--- free ---"
free -h
echo "--- pct list ---"
sudo pct list
for v in 510 511 512 513; do
echo "--- pct config $v ---"
sudo pct config "$v" | grep -E '^(hostname|cores|memory|swap|rootfs|mp|net)' || true
done
} >"$f"
python3 - "$OUT" "$tag" <<'PY'
import json, sys, urllib.request
from pathlib import Path
out, tag = Path(sys.argv[1]), sys.argv[2]
nodes = []
for vmid, name in (("511", "nats-a"), ("512", "nats-b"), ("513", "nats-c")):
raw = ""
try:
import subprocess
raw = subprocess.check_output(
["sudo", "pct", "exec", vmid, "--", "curl", "-fsS", "--max-time", "3", "http://127.0.0.1:8222/varz"],
text=True,
)
d = json.loads(raw)
nodes.append({
"vmid": vmid,
"name": name,
"server_name": d.get("server_name"),
"host": d.get("host"),
"port": d.get("port"),
"connections": d.get("connections"),
"in_msgs": d.get("in_msgs"),
"out_msgs": d.get("out_msgs"),
"in_bytes": d.get("in_bytes"),
"out_bytes": d.get("out_bytes"),
"cpu": d.get("cpu"),
"cores": d.get("cores"),
"mem": d.get("mem"),
"jetstream": bool(d.get("jetstream")),
})
except Exception as e:
nodes.append({"vmid": vmid, "name": name, "error": str(e)})
(out / f"varz-{tag}.json").write_text(json.dumps(nodes, indent=2) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
PY
}
echo "NS1 study $STAMP out=$OUT"
dump_env before
BENCH_OUT="$OUT" CLIENT_VMID="$CLIENT_VMID" bash "$ROOT/scripts/bench.sh"
dump_env after
python3 "$ROOT/scripts/build-ns1-study-report.py" "$OUT" "${COMPARE_DIR:-}"
echo "NS1 study complete $OUT"
ls -la "$OUT"/nats-cluster-bench-ns1.* "$OUT"/charts 2>/dev/null || ls -la "$OUT"

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scripts/test.sh Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Local syntax check always. Live cluster check when pct is present.
set -euo pipefail
ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
bash -n "$ROOT/scripts/lib-ct.sh"
bash -n "$ROOT/scripts/create-cluster.sh"
bash -n "$ROOT/scripts/status.sh"
bash -n "$ROOT/scripts/bench.sh"
bash -n "$ROOT/scripts/study-on-ns1.sh"
bash -n "$ROOT/scripts/maximize-ns1-study.sh"
bash -n "$ROOT/scripts/exhaustive-ns1-study.sh"
grep -q 'host: {{IP}}' "$ROOT/conf/nats.conf.tmpl"
grep -qv '0.0.0.0' "$ROOT/conf/nats.conf.tmpl"
if [[ ! -d /etc/pve/nodes ]]; then
echo "OK (syntax; not on Proxmox)"
exit 0
fi
# shellcheck disable=SC1091
. "$ROOT/cluster.env"
export PATH="/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:$PATH"
mapfile -t rows < <(printf '%s\n' "$NODES" | awk 'NF==3 {print}')
ready=0
for row in "${rows[@]}"; do
# shellcheck disable=SC2086
set -- $row
vmid=$1 name=$2 ip=$3
js="$(sudo pct exec "$vmid" -- curl -fsS --max-time 3 http://127.0.0.1:8222/varz 2>/dev/null || true)"
echo "$js" | grep -q '"jetstream"' && ready=$((ready + 1)) || echo "not ready $name"
done
[[ $ready -eq 3 ]] || { echo "cluster not fully up ($ready/3)" >&2; exit 1; }
# nats CLI on first node
first="$(echo "${rows[0]}" | awk '{print $1}')"
sudo pct exec "$first" -- bash -lc '
set -e
export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
if [[ ! -x /usr/local/bin/nats ]]; then
apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unzip >/dev/null
curl -fsSL https://github.com/nats-io/natscli/releases/download/v0.1.6/nats-0.1.6-linux-amd64.zip -o /tmp/natscli.zip
rm -rf /tmp/natscli && mkdir -p /tmp/natscli
unzip -o /tmp/natscli.zip -d /tmp/natscli >/dev/null
BIN=$(find /tmp/natscli /tmp -maxdepth 3 -type f -name nats | head -1)
test -n "$BIN"
install -m 0755 "$BIN" /usr/local/bin/nats
fi
IP=$(hostname -I | awk "{print \$1}")
export NATS_URL=nats://$IP:4222
export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
nats stream rm VERAE_PX_TEST --force >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
nats stream add VERAE_PX_TEST --subjects="verae.px.test" --replicas=3 --storage=file --retention=limits --discard=old --max-msgs=-1 --max-bytes=-1 --max-age=1h --dupe-window=2m --defaults
nats pub verae.px.test cluster-ok
nats stream info VERAE_PX_TEST
'
echo "OK live cluster (3/3 + replicas=3 stream)"

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scripts/udp-probe.mjs Executable file
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#!/usr/bin/env node
/** UDP echo RTT. server: node udp-probe.mjs server [port]
* client: node udp-probe.mjs client <host> <count> [port] [size] */
import dgram from "node:dgram";
const mode = process.argv[2] || "server";
const port = Number(process.argv[mode === "server" ? 3 : 5] || 9999);
if (mode === "server") {
const s = dgram.createSocket("udp4");
s.on("message", (msg, rinfo) => s.send(msg, rinfo.port, rinfo.address));
s.bind(port, "0.0.0.0", () => console.log(JSON.stringify({ mode: "udp-server", port })));
} else {
const host = process.argv[3];
const count = Number(process.argv[4] || 1000);
const size = Number(process.argv[6] || 128);
const sock = dgram.createSocket("udp4");
const payload = Buffer.alloc(size, 7);
const samples = [];
let i = 0;
const sendOne = () => {
const t0 = process.hrtime.bigint();
const once = (msg) => {
sock.off("message", once);
samples.push(Number(process.hrtime.bigint() - t0) / 1000);
i += 1;
if (i >= count) {
samples.sort((a, b) => a - b);
const us = (n) => `${(n / 1000).toFixed(3)}ms`;
const pct = (p) => samples[Math.min(samples.length - 1, Math.floor((p / 100) * samples.length))];
const sum = samples.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0);
console.log(
JSON.stringify({
mode: "udp-ping",
count: samples.length,
size,
host,
min: us(samples[0]),
avg: us(sum / samples.length),
p50: us(pct(50)),
p99: us(pct(99)),
max: us(samples[samples.length - 1]),
p50_us: Math.round(pct(50)),
p99_us: Math.round(pct(99)),
}),
);
sock.close();
} else sendOne();
};
sock.on("message", once);
sock.send(payload, port, host);
};
sendOne();
}