Go (Golang) vs Node JS: Performance Benchmark

Summary

This video compares Node.js and Golang by deploying microservices using Kubernetes, Istio, and Gateway API. It leverages Kiali, Prometheus, and Grafana for real-time monitoring and performance analysis. The test involves redirecting requests, handling time data, and image processing with S3-compatible Minio and MongoDB. The script also covers deployment strategies, connection management, and resource utilization, concluding that Golang is more efficient in resource handling and load management.

Takeaways

• 🔧 The video compares Node.js and Golang by building microservices and utilizing Istio service mesh with Gateway API.
• 📈 Real-time monitoring of microservices is possible, with the example showing 1.5 requests per second for service-a in Node.js namespace.
• 🔍 Health monitoring is available through the Kiali dashboard, which can show error rates, such as a 22% increase for service-b.
• 📊 Performance metrics like latency, CPU, and memory usage are compared using Prometheus and Grafana for both Node.js and Golang services.
• 💾 Source code and scripts for setting up the test environment are available on the presenter's GitHub repository.
• 🛠️ The test setup includes deploying service-a and service-b in Kubernetes, using Gateway API and Istio for service exposure.
• 🔄 Service-a redirects requests to service-b, which fetches the current time and sends it back, demonstrating inter-service communication.
• 🖼️ In the second test, service-a downloads an image from a Minio S3-compatible service and sends the last modified date to service-b for storage in MongoDB.
• 📈 The presenter suggests that Minio is more efficient for big data analysis than Hadoop, using less disk space with the same replication factor.
• 📊 The test results indicate that Golang services use fewer system resources and handle load better than Node.js services.
• 🔗 The video concludes with a link to the GitHub repository for the source code and an invitation to watch another video comparing Golang with Rust.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The video focuses on comparing Node.js and Go (Golang) by building multiple microservices and using Istio service mesh with a new Gateway API.

Why is Gateway API used instead of Ingress to expose services?

Gateway API is used to provide a more modern and flexible way to expose services to the internet, as opposed to the traditional Ingress approach.

How can one monitor the traffic and health of microservices in the video?

The video suggests using the Kiali dashboard for real-time monitoring and visualizing the health of microservices, as well as Prometheus and Grafana for detailed metrics.

What is the significance of the error rate increase to 22% mentioned in the script?

The error rate increase to 22% indicates a significant issue with service-b, which is visualized through red lines in the Kiali dashboard, signaling failed status codes.

What are the two main tests described in the video?

The first test involves a GET request to /api/time, which is a simple request to return the current time. The second test involves downloading an image from an S3-compatible service and saving its last modified date into MongoDB.

Why is Minio chosen for the S3-compatible API service?

Minio is chosen because it is more efficient from a storage perspective than Hadoop, especially for big data analysis, as it requires less disk space with the same replication factor.

What is the purpose of the podAntiAffinity setting mentioned in the script?

PodAntiAffinity is used to ensure that all the pods are deployed on different nodes to prevent resource contention and improve the overall resilience of the system.

How does the video script describe the use of Istio for monitoring sidecars?

The script describes adding an 'istio=monitor' label to each pod and using the Prometheus custom resource 'PodMonitor' to select and add them as targets for monitoring.

What is the role of the k6 monitoring tool in the video?

The k6 tool is used to perform the actual tests with different stages of virtual users, providing statistics such as multiple percentiles and overall performance insights.

What are the key performance metrics compared between Node.js and Go services in the video?

The key performance metrics compared include latency from the gateway, CPU usage, and memory usage for each microservice.

How does the video script suggest deploying the services for a fair test?

The script suggests using podAntiAffinity to ensure pods are deployed on different nodes and adjusting the settings to include multiple namespaces for a fair comparison.

What additional components are deployed alongside Prometheus and Grafana for monitoring in the video?

Additional components include the Kiali dashboard, MongoDB, and a deploy script to reproduce the setup.

Why is the connection pool handling different between Node.js and Go services in the test?

The script suggests that the difference in connection pool handling is due to the way each service maintains connections to MongoDB, which affects CPU usage during idle states.

What does the video suggest about the overall resource usage and load handling between Node.js and Go?

The video suggests that Go uses fewer system resources and handles load better than Node.js based on the test results and the observations made during the tests.